Men And Monsters
by perfectly insane 677
Summary: Pinkamena has returned from her three months of torture, thought to be dead and gone. But, she's returned, dark and corrupted. She's hiding things, became a different person. Her friends try to help, but they don't know the truth. This is her story, her pain, who she is, and what she's become.
1. Prologue

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/ Prologue: Not Truly Gone. / Story: Men and Monsters. / by Perfectly Insane /-/

A dimly lit maze of streets ran and zigzagged throughout the vision of town. In a bird's eye view, the homes would lay only grazed by the rays of street light. The sky was void of clouds, and many stars reflected the scene which played on the ground. The stars glared down at the world through their ancestral gaze in disdain for what was they left behind. Undoubtedly an optimistic would assume the star's gloom to be ultimately false, but with evil abundant in the world, wasn't pessimism certain? No, the sky is clear tonight.

Pinkamena was near one of these lights. She shuffled through the brisk and dry cold air as she made her way down the street. Giving no time to observe the world around her, she made her way through the neighborhood. No home seemed familiar, they all sat as statutes, with no lights and no noise to show the signs of residency. It was late, for the sun had passed by the horizon long ago, but in most cases, it'd seem strange that there was no life in any of these houses. Perhaps it was fear of the outside world; they never stepped foot outside for fear of people like her. Criminals, con Artists, murderers, and maniacs, her esteemed company for her occupation. She was now the leader of an entire criminal organization, and yet she came here. A small suburban area of town. She came not to disturb the neighborhood, but almost bask in it. To feel it's grace if for only a moment. She finally had moved her eyes from the sidewalk, and she expectedly looked at one of the houses. It was a two story with a brown facade lit by one porch lit. It stood proudly and welcoming in its spot adjacent to the front door. It guarded the home. It greeted her and accepted her back. It was home.

The moment Pinkamena reached the front steps she felt overcome with relief, it flooded over her, and she let out a heavy sigh. Home. I'm Home.

Maud stood leaning over the kitchen counter with a surprised smile on her face. She gave Pinkamena a hospitable welcome and came forth in a warm embrace. Maud was a fragment of Pinkamena. A piece of a previous life, a window into a world she left behind so long ago. In her profession, latching one's self to the past was akin to suicide. It lay them exposed and vulnerable to exploit, for someone to come along and uncover their ties left unsevered. Pinkamena knew the risk of holding on to her, but it was a chance she was willing to burden herself with.

"It's nice to see you home; I hope you feel at ease." Maud stood close.

Pinkamena nodded, halfway in truth.

"It's good to see you, Maud. I think I'm going to look around the old place." Pinkamena said as she turned towards the door.

The door to the bedroom creaked as it opened, and soft bars of moonlight filtered through the bedrooms far window. She sat on the edge of the bed with no intention of sleeping. Rest alluded her for quite some time now, and she had learned to deal with it. The main reason she returned home was to be somewhere she knew was her own. Ever since the procedure she had on her brain from Discord, she found it hard to distinguish others memorizes from her own. However, she had been assured this would pass. She fixed her gazed on the light. The trip out to the house helped her condition if only temporarily. However, a chorus of voices still whispered hushed retellings of past lives and perils, of lives, lost and born, of battles, lost and battles won, and of deeds good and evil. She almost felt like a vessel for confessinare. A shell of many souls, if she had a stronger self of self, she doubts it'd even have room to reside with the rest of her tenets. One voice rang higher than the rest though. A familiar one, her father's.

She had slain him herself, and it was how she got here in the first place, gaining such a painfully firm grip on the area's criminal underbelly. But out of all the voices, his echoed the loudest. He wasn't supposed to be in her head. It wasn't right. It sounded distant in her mind, distant and distinct, it didn't hang within the homogeneous mixture of her mind's choir, but it sang in its own key. Steady it came close, ever closer. Inching its way to the front of her mind. It was indeed odd, it never went off on it own to now, yet despite its usual complacency, it strayed. It's close.

A soft rustle came from the window. Within the beams of light, a humanoid figure began manifested itself. It held an uncertain position, moving from side to side, as if it were a hologram, sharply bouncing between several locations. It extended a translucent arm.

Her jaw dropped, and she sprang up to its face… Igneous, father!

She, without hesitation, followed through with a hard punch, straight at the figure. She stumbled. It fell right through him. The apparition's stance didn't even fault; he didn't flinch. She regained herself and readied herself to strike again, but she made no move. He wasn't real; there's no way, she thought. A slow and steady beating thumped in her head, low and powerful. A rhythm of calm and a pace of precision. It was all too familiar, but the figure was safe, she knew, she lowered her arms and looked at the manifestation before her expectedly. The thumping continued.

"You never changed," Igneous said, the figure's voice fluctuating with every.

"I told you that you needed me. That my help was paramount to your own success here." Igneous stated.

She wasn't as sure as he was about that. She said nothing.

"I thought you'd be like this, look, I need your cooperation!" Igneous insisted.

She ignored him, transferring her gaze away from him, he grew more transparent the longer she strayed. She found it oddly intriguing that her mind would summon such an anomaly. He took a step forward, his image fluctuating with a higher frequency. There was haste in his voice.

"Pinkamena, forget about what happened before, you need to hear me out!" He was borderline imploring her at this point.

Whether or not her conscious was behind this no longer mattered. Curiosity consumed her, but just in case he was truly Igneous, she would show no sign of her interest, favoring an uncaring, and apathetic facade.  
She gave him her disengaged gaze.

"Alright, spit it out." She sighed with a dry, flat tone.

His opacity recovered to its original level as her focus retained itself. However, he wasted no time in moving on.

"Pinkamena, you are more than capable of leading the organization. I know that, but you must be cautious." He outstretched an arm in genuine worry.

"Your youth has been more tormenting, scarring, and unforgiving than most others. Without a proper amount of thought to your future choice, I'm fearful you'd let that callused exterior of yours lead you down a road you don't want to travel. There's a reason no one in your head is still our leader. Something made them weak." He lecture, but Pinkamena froze, her cold exterior begged to crack.

Weak. Is he saying? No, he's right they were weak. But not her. No, she was different.

"You have these memories for a reason. I know you're used to making your own decisions, but I implore you to not to be so blinded by your own thought that you don't learn from those before you. Just because you're the leader doesn't mean you lead alone." He assured her.

This can't be right. This really was just in her head. Her father wouldn't be so openly caring, not after their duel. It couldn't be. Right?

"And until the day you die, Pinkamena. I'm here; you're Northstar." He straightens himself tall and proud.

"How?" Pinkamena responded. "How, you're not even supposed to be here."

"Supposed to. No, I need to be here. I'm a sort of spectral amalgamation of the other leader's memories of me." He answers. "That's why-" his form glitched suddenly. "It's so unstable. It takes a lot of energy for me to keep form."

Pinkamena gave a skeptical nod still trying to conceal her true thoughts.

"I'll be here, trust me, I'll be more help then you likely believe. You have a gift. Don't waste it… I'm right behind you." He finished with a resolute nod. He was done. His message had been received. His purpose, fulfilled.

His spirit began to fade, and there were no argument from Igneous. Pinkamena held firm, giving no solid response. Within a few moments, his ghost disappeared, leaving behind the same filtered moonlight of the window. Pinkamena knew he was right, that it would take a lot more than her brute force to pull through. She knew it, yet she couldn't let herself believe it.

There were quite a few people out at the park for a rainy morning. They were cleanly dressed and held umbrellas high above their head to keep dry. They walked with confidence and cheery smiles on their faces while a hooded figure sat on the bench. The cloaked woman was dressed in all black, the rain making it slick and shiny. She didn't possess an umbrella. The arms of her coat came down past her hands making her jacket appear much too baggy. Drenched and dark she rose from the bench. The news still haunted her. Looming menacingly over her shoulders, slowly and sadistically pressing needles into her. News so heavy it brought about physical pain. She felt like she herself had failed that she couldn't save her. Was it her fault the criminal underbelly claimed another soul. No, but she laid in its midst just as her. Any day could be her last. She never felt more acutely aware of how disconnected from the outside world she was. She shuffled down the paved sidewalk. She had no confirmation, only inquiry.

Underneath a town board hung the town's news and events. Papers discussing local occasions were ordinary. However, one caught her eye. A missing person's flyer.

She reached out and snatched it; hysteria enveloped her. Cruel fate. It was Pinkamena's. She wanted to cry. Heavy resistance and mourning filled her voice. "I promise pinkie, I'll make them pay for what they did to you!" she began to choke up, her steady hands quivered. Vengeance took up mournings roost. The rain has come, lighting was near. They'll praise the thunder. 


	2. Chapter 1

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/ Chapter One: The Beginning Of The End. / Story: Men and Monsters. / by Perfectly Insane /-/

Pinkamena looked at Discord almost eagerly: a cocky smile on her face. Normally, Discord would remain unfazed by any sort of stare, he's seen almost every kind. But this one, something was different about it, that look in her eyes, the way she smiled, it was something new, something he didn't understand, it made him...uncomfortable.

"So, how does it feel? You know, having all those memories in your head, blending together with your own? I've read multiple documents on it, but never really got to talk to one."

He asked calmly, his hands still behind his back, pulling the tranquilizer out of his pocket slowly. He wasn't sure if she was mentally stable or not, or physically stable, for that matter. It would be better to have her unconscious while he checks her, she obviously has no problem resorting to violence.

As Discord looked at her, he noticed Blake was slowly starting to stand up, nodding at Discord, he wanted him to keep her distracted.

"It's...an experience, I don't think it's really taken effect just yet. When I woke up, I could hear this faint whispering in the back of my head, but now it's quiet. And I don't think I have access to their memories just yet, it's hard to explain. I'm pretty sure they're either getting used to their new home or giving me time to adjust to everything. Who knows? Oh wait, you would. Care to give me a rundown, Doc?"

She asked giddily, similar to a child. It made him further unsettled. It's obvious her personality has been affected, parts of her still remained, but there were these little signs that she was somewhat changed. She seemed more...erratic, frivolous, like how she was before the woods. Though he can only assume how she was, he never met her, just read reports from the people who kept tabs on her.

"Well, let me think..."

Discord successfully pulled the syringe out, holding it in his hands for when Blake subdues her.

"Now, you have to remember, only three people have ever had memories injected into them, not counting you. While there is a certain pattern, it can still vary. Nothing could apply to you, one of the main reasons it wasn't used for every leader is because of its unpredictable. And its habit of anyone it's used on commits suicide."

Blake was on his feet now, moving closer to her every second, not making any noises or sudden movements. Discord was trying his hardest not to look at him and give away his location, Pinkamena seemed none the wiser.

"Yeah, I sort of figured there were dangerous side effects, can't imagine it not having any. But, luckily, right now, I'm not feeling them just yet. And, not sure why, but that emotional turmoil I was feeling before, it's not really there right now. I don't feel conflicted about anything, everything feels fine, I feel like I could even relax. But, without my emotions to distract me, everything feels more clear. My senses seem sharper, I can focus on things better, my mind just feels so...open."

For a brief moment, she closed her eyes and deeply inhaled, as if to take in her surroundings. Blake took this opportunity to leap at her, trying to force her on the ground while Discord sedates her. But, she was expecting this. In the blink of an eye, she turned around and grabbed his right arm with her left hand, using her right to grab him by the neck. Before he had to time to comprehend what just happened, she picked him up and chokeslammed him into the ground, causing him to grunt loudly. As soon as he hit the ground, she let go of his neck, putting that hand on his arm. In a moment, she broke his arm, the sound of the bone snapping filled the room. Simultaneously, she slammed her right foot down onto his chest, fracturing a few ribs. Blake yelled loudly, but bit his tongue to stop himself, he didn't want to give her that satisfaction.

Discord didn't move, he simply watched what happened before him with a surprised look on his face.

"You know Blake, I was actually going to leave you be. But now that I know you're not afraid to attack me, I can't allow you near me anymore. And don't say I didn't warn you, I was even saying how sharp my senses were. I could hear your heartbeat getting faster as you got closer, your footsteps weren't that quiet either. But most importantly, I could smell your fear!"

She said sadistically, that smile on her face as she inched closer to him, squeezing his now broken arm, causing him to grunt loudly again.

"And Discord,"

Pinkamena said to him, though she didn't turn her face away from Blake. Discord flinched, her sultry voice, that look on her face, the lack of hesitation as she hurt him, for just a moment, he felt fear.

"put that needle back in your pocket, you're not going to be able to get close enough to me to use it. And even if you did, by the time it took effect, I would've ripped out your throat."

Her voice sounded so casual and calm, it was almost unnerving. Discord, not wanting to take any risk, complied. He moved his hand in front of him, making sure she could see it and dropped the needle back in his pocket.

"Good, now, Blake, I'm going to-"

Before Pinkamena could finish her sentence, Melvin, one of the best doctors they had, burst through the door. His breathing was frantic, sweat ran down from the sides of his face, his eye wide open in a panicked state.

"Discord! We have problem, there's a riot and-"

Melvin stopped, looking at the scene before him. Pinkamena, the comatose girl who was presumed never to wake up, had Blake, The Syndicate's best torturer, on the ground with his arm in her hand an foot on his chest. While Discord, Arguably the smartest guy The Syndicate's ever had, lost his composure and was standing there in disbelief.

"W-What's happening?!"

He barely managed to stutter out, not sure what to make of the situation before him. Pinkamena turned to him, a look of curiosity on her face. She let go of Blake's arm and took her foot off his chest, leaving him to be, for now. Discord did not say anything, he didn't know what kind of mood she was in, or who she was mad at, it would be better just to avoid annoying her for now.

"Riot? What's this about a riot?"

She asked him, moving slightly closer. He back up, looking like he was about to bolt out of the door. But in the blink of an eye, she was in front of her, not allowing him out of her sight.

"I'm not sure if I can-"

"Tell her Melvin, she's our new leader, I would suggest treating her like one."

Discord said commandingly, not looking at him as he said it. Melvin glanced at him for a second, not sure whether to believe that or not. But as he turned back to the girl in front of him, he noticed that smile on her face, and that look in her eyes. He didn't know whether she could be a leader or not, but she was certainly a predator, and he was the prey. Melvin gulped.

"Well, ever since The Silent Killer started killing our men, there has been this tension. Everyone was looking to Igneous for the solution, he had always dealt with similar problems before. But then, he suddenly died, and this only made things worse. With no one to deal with The Silent Killer or to lead us, panic spread. Nobody was given answers as to what would happen to the one who killed him, or who the new leader was going to be. Three days passed, and they couldn't take the silence anymore. People began demanding answers, but nobody would give it to them. Now, a good portion of them is on strike in the meeting hall, refusing to do anything until they are shown their new leader."

Melvin explained quickly, not leaving out any details. At least, none he knew of. The smile on Pinkamena's face was gone, a look of almost blankness replacing it. Silence filled the room, Discord and Melvin didn't want to say anything, Blake was busy scrounging up anything he can to bandage up his arm.

"Hmm, seemed things have gotten quite chaotic without a leader. Well, I'm here now, might as well deal with it. Melvin, is it only happening in the meeting hall? Or is there anywhere else it's happening?"

She asked casually, seeming to have a plan in mind on how to deal with this.

"It's just the meeting hall, it started only five minutes ago. But if left alone, it will spread."

He seemed to be getting more panicked every minute, too many unexpected things were happening in such a short span of time.

"Good, this should be easy then. Melvin, you and a few others try to corral them and keep it contained, they'll be less likely to hit doctors or anything. Avoid hurting them if possible, I want this done with as little casualties as possible."

She ordered, looking at him as she said so. Melvin didn't move, he wasn't sure how to react. She was giving him orders, but she's been the supposed leader for a whole ten minutes, most likely less.

"Well? Why are you still here? Go!"

She shouted, causing him to flinch. He frantically opened the door and ran out, doing as she said. If she really was going to be the new leader, he couldn't afford to piss her off.

"Discord,"

Pinkamena said, glancing at him as she said so. Discord also flinched, he wasn't sure how he felt about her adjusting to leader already, giving out order after just waking up. Then again, that adjustability was part of the reason the memories were inserted.

"You're going with me to deal with this since you were so close to Igneous, they'll trust you. And I want you to tell me everything about The Silent Killer, I'd like an explanation why someones been killing us and they're still alive. And any other significant events that have happened, and don't hold back anything, you really can't afford to piss me off."

Discord didn't respond, that's what he expected she'd want. Her way of talking, it sort of reminded him of Igneous. But at the same time, it was vastly different. This was going to be something he'd need to get used to.

"And Blake,"

Pinkamena moved her head slightly to the right, towards Blake, who was leaning against a table wrapping up his arm. He looked up at her, flinching as he finished, his arm was now in a sling.

"Come with us, I want you to be there. And afterward, I intend to send you away. Now come on, I want to get this started."

Pinkamena walked out the door before Blake or Discord could respond, Blake had a panicked look on his face, while Discord was slowly regaining his composure.

"Send me away!? She can't actually do that, can she?"

Blake asked Discord, this wasn't something he's ever heard of a leader doing before.

"In a way, yes. She can't just kick you out of The Syndicate, not without a really good reason. But she can fire you as the torturer and replace you with someone else, which wouldn't be hard to do. After that, there are many options of what she could do: Send you to a different district, even a different city. Make you constantly busy, she could make it to where you would never be near her if she really wanted."

Blake seemed to get even more panicked at that, Disbelief was there too. Then, anger.

"That cocky little cunt! Does she really think she can just do that to me? I'd like to see her smile when she's on the ground and I-"

"Blake, shut up. I don't know if she can hear you, but you might still have a chance. She seems to be in a semi-good mood, so if you play along, don't fuck up, and try to be helpful, she might change her mind."

Discord's calmness seemed to calm down Blake, at least, he wasn't angry. But before he could say anything else, the door opened again.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Pinkamena demanded, she had things to do, and she didn't like waiting. Discord and Blake, begrudgingly, obliged and followed her out the doorway.

The meeting hall was very similar to a prison cafeteria, while at the same time, similar to a highschools gym. It was large, probably larger than the gladiator ring Pinkamena fought in. It was very similar to that, actually. The walls were a bright red, the same as the roof and the floor. There were four entrances, which doubled as exits. One on in the front, left, right, and back. Steel blue double doors were at each of these, each one leading to somewhere different.

There were dozens of large, gray tables, blue seats attached to them. These same tables were spread throughout the entire room, enough to hold hundreds of people. Other than the tables, the room was quite empty. Except for the south side of the room, there was something else there.

Since this was a meeting hall, there had to be some sort of stage that the leader could speak from. Intercoms were spread out The Syndicate to make announcements and such, but there wasn't one in here. There was something similar to a stage in the room, though it was more reinforced. It was smaller than the stage for a concert but bigger than one for a theater. It was dark black and made of granite, the front and sides had wood on them. There were no curtains or anything, it was completely open. It was tall, taller than the average person. If anyone tried to climb up it from the front, they'd most likely get kicked down by anyone on it.

There were two stairs on the sides for anyone to get on, one of the entrances were beside the one to the left. There were metal rails on the stairs, both for balance, and to prevent anyone from being attacked on it. There was no microphone or speakers of any kind, they weren't necessary. With the room enclosed the way it was, voices are usually amplified and everyone in the room can hear them, and everyone in the room was quiet.

"What do you mean wait a little longer? We've been waiting long enough, we demand answers now!"

At least, usually is. But with the riot happening, the room was filled with noise. There was a large group of people in the middle of the room, with a couple of doctors and other people who didn't join the riot were trying to contain it. The tables had been used as a makeshift barricade, most on their sides around the crowd. Somehow, it hasn't been violent, just aggressive. Pinkamena, Blake, and Discord came into the room from the back entrance, remaining unnoticed by the crowd. On the way there, Pinkamena changed her clothes, since what she was wearing didn't exactly intimidate anyone. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a leather jacket, her necklace still around her neck. She was also wearing black jeans and black sneakers, this was a lot better. But it might not stay, she might wear something else normally, she wasn't sure. They were now on the stage, Pinkamena looking at it in amusement, Discord somewhat disgusted, and Blake curious to see how this will play out.

"Wow, sure is a lot of them. But, it's not all. How many are there Discord?"

She asked him, not looking away from the chaos in front of her, enjoying it.

"Melvin texted me on the way here, he said it was somewhere around seventy, that's all they could manage to get here. There are probably a few stragglers, but not of any real significance."

Disord's hands were behind his back as he talked, his composure returned, he was still adjusting, but he was no longer afraid.

"If you want my advice, I'd suggest yo-"

"No, actually, I don't."

She interrupted him coldly, not caring for his input. Her gaze was still locked onto the crowd, but it was obvious something else was going through her mind.

"Blake, you talk to these people on a day to day basis, you'd understand them more than most. What do you suggest?"

Her voice was no longer cold but demanding. Blake looked at her surprised, he wasn't expecting her to give him another chance. Blake moved forward standing beside her, looking down at the crowd.

"Hmm, they don't want to overthrow the system or anything noble like that. They want answers, they want the person who killed Igneous to be punished, and they want a new leader. They don't know it was you, so the best thing you can do is say it was someone else and that they were killed. You need to assert your position, they need to know you're the leader and that you're in charge now. Be careful how you do this, your first impression will decide how they treat you."

Blake said surprisingly calm, which was something out of character for him. He convinced himself it was because he was trying to keep on her good side, but some part of him knew, it was because he was afraid of her.

"Thanks for the advice, now step back, I don't want the others to think your on the same level as me."

Blake did as she said and didn't say anything, despite his anger wanting him to. He stood beside Discord, who had a strange look on his face.

"How do you intend to get their attention? Doubt with all the shouting they'd hear you, I could get a microphone if you'd like."

Discord asked her, prepared to do whatever she said right now.

"No, I've got a better idea."

A smile stretched across her face, revealing her large, sharp teeth. Her eyes still blue, but with a tint of red. In an instant, a loud roar filled the room. It was unlike any roar anyone in the room had heard, besides Discord and Blake. It sounded like a demonic lion, but at the same time, like a creature, they've never heard, almost like the roar of a dinosaur. The room fell quiet, no more shouting from the crowd, nothing but the roar. Soon, the roar ended, Pinkamena's eyes going back to blue and her teeth back to normal, though that sadistic smile was still on her face.

Everyone in the room looked at her, some out of fear, others out of surprise, no one knew what to say.

"Good, now I have your attention. You all wanted answers? Your new leader? Well, I'm right here!"

Pinkamena declared, her arms spread out in a confident gesture.

"Now, before I begin, who is the leader of this little retaliation?"

She looked out into the crowd, waiting for someone to step forward. And like she expected, someone did.

"I am!"

Someone shouted from the crowd, stepping forward past the others. He was wearing a white T-shirt with jeans, his blonde hair hung down to the sides of his face, which had no facial hair to be seen. Green eyes looked at her confidently, he was slightly taller than her and had slightly bigger than normal arms. His black boots clacked as he walked forward, not afraid of what might happen.

"Cocky little guy, aren't ya? That's good, cowards don't make good leaders. Come on forward, let's settle this in front of everybody before answering any questions."

She said casually as she jumped off the stage, landing feet first with a thump. She looks at him as she lands, waiting for him to come forward. He does, standing directly in front of her, looking into her eyes with a smirk on his face.

"How would you like to settle this then? Take one of my fingernails? Maybe break my jaw? Doubt you even could, a little girl like you would barely be able to bruise me!"

He practically laughed in her face, confident that whoever this girl was, she wouldn't do anything brash. But, she didn't even lose her cool. In fact, her smile seemed to widen.

"Oh no! Nothing so barbaric! I simply want to ask a few questions, see if we can have this settled with no one hurting each other! But, I'll be asking the questions first, just to make sure you don't do anything stupid. Is that okay with you? Or does this little girl have to kick your ass until you listen?"

She said jokingly, her tone making it hard to tell if she was serious. His smile faltered, something about her set him off. He wasn't afraid of her, per se, more like something just...bothered him. But, he ignored it, how could this girl be a threat at all?

"Yeah, sure, as long as you tell me who you-"

"Why did you think this was a good idea?"

Pinkamena interrupted him, her tone taking a change to cold and threating one. Her smile was still there, but her eyes were narrowed as she looked at him.

"W-what do you mean?"

He was taken aback, her tone and face changed drastically, it wasn't something he was expecting.

"There's a someone out there who can kill us and remain uncaught, Igneous is dead, you didn't know who was going to be your new leader, and you decide to panic and cause a riot? Seems pretty stupid to me, so please, enlighten me."

She crossed her arms as she waited for him to respond, enjoying the look on his face.

"W-well, I just figured with everything going on, they needed some kind of release, you know?"

"Then go to a bar, get drunk, get laid, get into bar fights, there are other ways of release then a riot. Is that really the reason you're going with? Or,"

She moved closer to him, putting her hand on his chest as she moved closer to his face, a lustful look on her face.

"Were you just trying to impress us with your leadership skills?"

He was now sweating, not sure how to react. First, she looked like she was going to kill him on the spot, now it looks like she's trying to seduce him! He found himself unable to move back, fear and uncertainty making it hard.

"I-i'd be lying if I said I didn't want some recognition. I mean, do you know how hard it is to convince all these guys to get together and resist a system they're so used to? It takes a lot of leadership skills, and I think I deserve some praise!"

He said, trying to regain some of his confidence.

"I'd agree! It can't be easy to get all these guys to follow you, must have had some impressive charisma, or maybe it was your handsome face? You deserve more than just praise, I think you deserve a reward."

She leaned closer to him, their lips now inches apart. But before they could connect, there was a squishing sound, he suddenly felt like something was missing. He looked down, his eyes widening at what he saw. Her hand was in his chest, penetrating through his rib cage and grabbing his heart. He coughed up blood as he looked up at her, unable to speak. Fear coursed through him as he looked at her face inches away from him, a sadistic smile on her face, a tint of red in her constricted eyes, this was the face of death.

"Sorry, I just needed a little,"

Pinkamena whispered into his ear as she ripped out his heart, his body dropping to the floor.

"release."

She whispered as she looked down at her body, tossing his heart beside his body. Before anyone could react, she turned toward the crowd, her hand covered in blood and a smile on his face.

"Let this be a lesson to you all, defiance like thiswill not be tolerated! If you're told to wait, you wait! Don't throw a riot just because you're a bunch of impatient little bitches!"

Pinkamena said, her voice booming throughout the room. Anger and fear were the most prominent emotions in the room, but no one said anything.

Pinkamena pulled a rag from her pocket, using it to clean her hand. She gestured at Blake to get rid of the body, which he hesitated, but he did.

"Now, you wanted to know what happened to the person who killed Igneous? Well,"

Pinkamena put the rag back in her pocket, turning toward the crowd with a confident smile on her face.

"She's standing right here."

Pinkamena declared, no ounce of hesitation in her voice. Discord, for the second time that day, lost his cool. He was genuinely surprised at this, his mouth agape and his eyes widened. Blake, on the other hand, was almost proud. As he dragged a body in the corner to be disposed of later, a smile stretched across his face. He knew she'd want to brag about it, there's no way she wouldn't.

After her declaration, once again, yelling filled the room. The crowd was once again pushing against the security holding them back, but this time there was one shared emotion, rage.

"Now hold on, you may want to hold off on killing me considering I am your leader now. Or, at least hear me out."

Most of the crowd stopped at this, so many events happening, they almost forgot what they were here for in the first place.

"Igneous fought me, his daughter, himself, I outsmarted and killed him, it was as simple as that! I didn't cheat, I didn't have help, we fought and I won! And, as both the one who killed him and his child, I am now the leader!

Igneous was a good leader, but I'm a better one! It's been months since The Silent Killer started killing our men, and in that time, Igneous never got close to catching them! As your leader, I can promise you, that whoever this person is, I will catch them within a week. Any questions?"

The room was silent once again, but in just moments, it was filled with noise again. But instead of anger, it was questions overlapping each other. Pinkamena smiled at this, this was too easy. Before answering any questions, she turned around and gestured for Discord to come towards her. Curiously, he did. He leaned down towards, as she leaned into his ear and whispered something. When she was done, he pulled back, confusion obvious on his face.

"What do you want that for? Is that your plan for Blake? Or for The Silent Killer?"

"You'll see, just go get it! It's a surprise."

Wanting to know what it was, he obliged, walked off the stage, and left the room. At this time, Blake returned to the stage, curious what Discord left for. He was going to ask her, but he figured she wouldn't tell him.

"Everybody calm down! One at a time, I'll take them separately."

She said she turned back around, just intending to ask questions both to keep them satisfied and to buy time until Discord gets back, they won't have any more questions then.

"Igneous has been dead for a week, where have you been since then?"

One of them asked, they were still talking over each other, but thanks to her improved hearing, she picked one at random. This heightened senses were really useful but had their cons.

"Just because I won the fight with Igneous doesn't mean I won unscathed. He put up a really tough fight, not to mention I had to fight thirty guys beforehand. After all that exertion, my body kind of shut down and I had to take a break. Next question!"

Blake watched in amusement, they were going along with this almost too easy. Then again, they have been waiting for a new leader all this time. Now that they know who it is, and that Igneous was going to be retiring soon enough, it probably wouldn't be that hard to adjust. The only issue was, could he?

"If one of us were to kill you, would we become the leader?"

Pinkamena's smile stretched just a little further at that question, almost like she expected it.

"It's about more than just killing me if that was the case, then just poising my food or something would be too easy. You have to formally challenge me and fight me in front of everyone else. And if something out of the ordinary were to happen, there's a system in place. Keep in mind that I was able to kill thirty men and Igneous, so if you think you can take me,"

Pinkamena's eyes flashed red for just a moment, striking fear into the crowd.

"Feel free to try."

The crowd fell silent, the questions no longer came. As If on cue, Discord came back, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"Ah! Just in time! Look at this boys!"

As soon as Discord got near her, she snatched the paper from him. Discord handed her a pencil and she immediately began to write on it.

"You guys want the person who killed Igneous to be punished, right? Even if I am your new leader, I don't expect you to respect me immediately. So, here's how I'm going to get you to trust me!"

She flipped the paper over, revealing it filled with words that couldn't be seen by them.

"This is a bounty paper, used only by people with high influence. These bounties are very high profile, sent out to everybody, from the lowly thief to the professional bounty hunter. Granted, when the bounty is made, it takes around a week for everyone to know about it. It's not a coincidence I set a week for me to catch The Silent Killer either, this is how I'll make you trust me."

Realization was on Discord's and Blake's face, both feeling the way similar about it.

"I've set a one million bounty on myself! The money will be coming from The Syndicate, yes. But It's something I can make up, or at least you guys can. It doesn't matter whether or not I capture The Silent Killer, which I will, I will still be punished like you guys wanted. So, what do you say, will you follow me until I'm killed?"

She asked almost sarcastically, holding the paper in front of her confidently. Agreement came from the crowd, this worked out in their favor no matter what, this is worth waiting for.

"Good! Now, could a few of you boys dispose of the body of the jackass over there! I'm going to talk to some people and get this around, the rest of you tell everyone about what happened here today. Other than that, do what you usually do, jobs, whores, whatever. I have to get some things in order, consider today an easy day, enjoy!"

Just like that, the crowd dispersed, most seeming very happy and pleased. And like she politely asked, two of them got the body in the corner and took it off, to dispose of it wherever it is they did, she'd have to ask Discord where that was later.

"Are you stupid!? Did those memories in your brain replace your common sense!? You're going to get yourself killed!"

Discord yelled at her, his face turning red from anger. Blake jumped off the stage, looking like he was ready to hit her.

"Do any idea what you've done? I don't care how badass you think you are, you're going have every hitman and assassin after your ass! And eventually, you're going to slip up!"

Blake screamed at her, forgetting for a moment that he was trying not to anger her.

"Calm down you two! It's fine, I've thought this out. This might draw out The Silent Killer, and even if it doesn't, I can handle this. Seriously, I've got a plan. And besides, I've got a week before it really takes effect and spreads everywhere, just trust me on this, please?"

She sounded genuine, but it was impossible to tell with her. Discord was still enraged, and Blake still looked like he wanted to hit her, but they both realized they were going to just have to trust her, it's already done.

"Now Blake, I thought about, and I'm willing to give you a chance. Go to the other districts and spread the news about the bounty, I don't care if you get it done on the first day, I don't want to see you for a week. I don't care what you do, as long as it doesn't affect me. Get out of my sight. Now."

Blake was taken aback, her mood took an unexpected turn. But from the look on her face, he really shouldn't hesitate. Blake left the room, still somewhat processing everything.

"Discord, you've been kind to me. Well, kinder than Blake and Igneous were. So, I'm going to let you off the hook. I wasn't joking when I said I have to get some things sorted out, so I need you to do me a favor. Go to Igneous's office and get his file on The Silent Killer, I know he has one, but just in case he doesn't, make one. Leave it on the desk, I'll get there later. After that, you can do whatever. I won't be back until tomorrow, so I expect you keep things normal until then.

When I get back, I want you to run all the Chimera test you can, I need to know everything, I don't want anything unexpected to happen. Now, I'll be leaving now. Don't bother contacting trying to contact me, I won't reply."

Pinkamena said in a rush, turning around as soon as she was done. She was walking towards one of the exits, leaving a surprised Discord behind her. This seemed easy for her, she was so calm and composed, maybe she really did have a plan. Was this because of the memories? If so, it was very impressive, it made her seem like a natural born leader. But, at the same time, it made him worried. He didn't know what the side effects were exactly, just what some of them could be. To be safe, he needs to know exactly where she is.

"Where are you going?"

He shouted, causing her to stop. She didn't look back at him, she just kept facing forward.

"Home." 


	3. Chapter 2 Part One

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/ Chapter Two: Reunion: Part One. / Story: Men and Monsters. / by Perfectly Insane /-/

Isolation.

That's what she needed right now, more than anything, she needed to isolate herself. Which is ironic, most people who have gone through isolation don't ever want to experience it again, and that's usually only after a few days. She was isolated in the woods, for a month, left to fend herself. After something like that, assuming she hadn't become some kind of feral monster, you'd assume she wouldn't want to be alone again. But Pinkamena wasn't like most people.

She was barely even a person anymore.

As nice as it would be, and as much as she wanted to, she can't go back into the woods, for a variety of reasons. There was too much to do, too many things to catch up on, plus this whole Silent Killer business is something she was going to have to deal with. And if she were to leave right now with relation the way they are with The Apples, it could mean total war.

But even if she could bring herself to just leave, which wouldn't be too hard since the majority of people think she's dead, there was still one thing that would stop her from staying away.

The Whispers.

She knew what they were, or more precisely, who they were. All the previous leaders of The Syndicate, with the exception of Igneous, an amalgamation of memories inside her head. Each an individual presence, but at the same time, they were one. She wasn't sure how the memories were supposed to work, or if they already had. Maybe they're just adjusting to their new home, and when they settle in, all the memories will come flooding in. Or maybe that's not how it worked, that the memories sort of just soaked in and integrate themselves with her memories, making it seem as if they were hers.

Or maybe they were sadists, waiting for her to be emotionally unstable, and forcing the memories to come crashing down on her in a moment of weakness.

It didn't really matter how it worked, it was almost entirely out of her control, she was better off not caring about it. What she did know, was when she woke up from her comatose nightmare, something changed. Well, something changed before her body collapsed, but this was something else. When she awoke, her fear, her uncertainty, her rage, they weren't the same, barely even there. It was replaced by something, something she hadn't felt before.

Coldness, a deep chill inside her body, almost numb.

At first, she thought her body and brain were in some kind of shock, which made sense considering all the sudden changes it had gone through the past three months. But it was more than that, she could still faintly feel it inside her, like frostbite. But, it wasn't a bad thing.

When she woke up, despite barely feeling any sort of emotion, she could still think, plan, even calculate the best course of action. Everything became clear, her thoughts and judgment no longer clouded by emotions or irrational impulses, she thought of everything rationally. She was almost positive this had something to do with The Whispers, the timing was too perfect and it lined up too well.

But assuming that was them, it made her realize something. She wasn't their puppet, at least not completely. The first thing she did when she woke up, instead of remaining calm and asking Blake about recent events, she pounced on him. She slammed him into a wall, not out of vengeance or bloodlust, not even just to test out her abilities, it's because she wanted something. Something irrational and useless, not something she should prioritize in any situation.

She wanted that necklace.

Even now, she didn't know why she wanted it, it had no significance. The person that necklaced belonged to was dead, at a point in time, she may have cared. But now? It was just a necklace with a picture of two dead girls in it, whose father was dead, mother didn't care, and sister was indifferent.

But, for some reason, her first thought when she came to consciousness was to get that necklace. And from the second she put it on, she didn't want to take it off, the thought hadn't even come to her mind. The necklace was now tucked in her bra, unable to be seen by anyone, except for maybe a part of the chain around her neck, assuming her hood isn't up.

In her train of thought, Pinkamena began to lose focus on where she was going, her body was more or less on autopilot. Instead of driving or walking home like normal people would, she wanted to do something more...exciting. Freerunning wasn't something most people saw in real life, maybe in movies or games, but normal people don't do that. Either because they're too afraid, or because it's deemed weird by most.

She was always curious to try it, it seemed like a lot of fun, but she had decided it was far too risky. But now, both because she had the healing to risk it, and she wanted to see the city after being cooped up for so long, she decided to try it. It was...fun, actually. And fairly easy, so easy, in fact, she could do it while barely concentrating. When she became lost in her thoughts, her body just kept moving, having passed her house several minutes ago. But now that she stopped, she looked at the city before her, her hood covering her face. She had swapped out her leather jacket for a black hood, wearing that jacket felt...wrong, somehow.

The city was almost as active at night as it was the day, or at least it was tonight. The lights from the buildings filled the night, hundreds of lights could be seen from the rooftop she was on. And the people below her was also a sight to see, there were dozens of them. They were talking cheerfully, smiles on their faces as they conversated with each other, carefree, as they think nothing can go wrong in their life.

She used to be one of them.

But now, she owned them, and this city. The Syndicate had at least a finger in every major company in the city, smaller ones even easier to control. Not just that, but with the number of police officers they had on their payroll, getting away with killing one or two would be child's play.

She may not have as much influence she'd like since she just recently became the leader, she was going to have to earn that. But the power she felt, the control she had over these peoples lives, it was exhlierating!

She had never wanted power before, never had a need for it. But now that she had this much power, maybe even more than a president, she would never let it go!

Something changed, drastically.

She shouldn't be surprised how much can change in such a short amount of time, but she was. When she got home, there were no words or physical interaction between them. Just a shared look of...relief. Some part of her expected Blake to have had Maud killed out of revenge for Igneous, but she wasn't. Pinkamena didn't need to sleep, not after being in a coma as long as she was, but she somehow managed to fall asleep.

The next morning was a mess.

She awoke to the apparition of her dead father, which made her feel a spike of anger that made her violent. But when her fist phased through his face, causing her to almost punch a hole in the wall, she was more confused than angry. Apparently, he was some kind of physical manifestation of the memories, something that would make it easier for her to understand, and apparently, they decided her father, who she murdered, would be who they chose to appear as.

She didn't really understand it that well, her situation was already surreal, this wasn't helping. She was going to have to have a long conversation with he-it next time it shows up if it shows up. Whatever the memories had done to her, made her more adjustable and open minded. But it was still going to be a process, how long it takes depends on how much weird stuff was going to keep happening.

After several minutes of just to comprehend the enigmatic explanation of her not dead father, she decided just to head down to the kitchen and have some coffee, she could feel sleep was going to be a problem in the future, and coffee was going to be her best friend.

And, like she expected, Maud was up before her. She wasn't sure how, but Maud was always awake before she was, always. She had sort of expected this to be an exception for Maud, because of recent events, but Maud didn't seem to make exceptions.

A surprisingly normal conversation happened between her and Maud, the coffee being the icebreaker. But, it was unavoidable, really, it got heated. There was a lot of yelling from Pinkamena, and a table was broken, which wasn't really a loss since they had an extra. Maud was, as usual, calm and composed, she probably expected an outburst like that. Pinkamena left the house, saying she was leaving to deal with The Apples, which was true. But with everything that's been happening, avoiding people until she had things sorted and settled would be preferable.

But, she was both surprised and relieved she got angry. The cold she felt when she first woke up, the same one that had stayed with her till she got home, had disappeared. The anger had replaced it or overshadowed it. But, it was temporary, of course. Even now, as she walked the streets of the city, she could feel it returning. And as it was, her anger faded, and she was beginning to realize that Maud was right, she usually was.

She needed to focus, preventing a war with The Apples was more important than trying to figure everything out, that was something she could during free time, which was about to end. Either it was a coincidence or manipulated by some non-existent god, today was the first day back to school. Which worked against her, she was hoping she would have at least a week or so beforehand. She hated it, but she had to go to school. Of course, they had almost every police officer on their payroll, so she could just not go.

But, there were things she needed to watch, people, and things, she needed to watch. Applejack went to school there, it would be a good way to talk to her without any sort of risk, she wouldn't do anything in such a public area. But there were other things she needed to keep eyes all, dangerous things. The Dazzlings, who could try to take revenge at any time. Sunset Shimmer, who was bound to be unstable after thinking that one of her best friends was dead. Twilight, which had just recently gone through a terrible transformation, could easily relapse.

The Syndicate watched everything, which meant even the magical anomalies that happened. They knew of the portal to the other world, and if there were any others, they knew about it. If she had to guess, they probably people in the other world and have some sort of base in there, it wouldn't be surprising. Of course, they would have intervened when Sunset transformed or The Dazzlings were causing chaos, but it hadn't escalated enough to force them to.

They had been keeping tabs on these, but since more men have been dying than The Syndicate is comfortable with, they decided it would be easier if she just went to school so she could watch the majority of them for a while, at least till school was out for the day. But, luckily for her, she thought of a way to deal with Applejack before school even started.

She spent longer at home than she intended, but she still had time. On the way home, she had stopped by AJ's house, leaving a little note. The note had basically said that someone had information on the disappearance of Pinkie and that this person was willing to trade some information for money. The condition was that she had to come alone, if she brought anyone else, they would leave immediately. Normally, Applejack would assume this was a syndicate assassin, or The Silent Killer themselves.

But, Applejack was desperate for answers. Not just that, but the location almost guaranteed safety. It was maybe two blocks away from the school, a park that usually had a good amount of people. But the time was arranged for six thirty, which is when there would be people around since school would be starting soon. Sure, whoever it was could still kill them. But in a place that open, with a person that important, and no vantage points to snipe from? That was almost assured capture, The Syndicate nor The Silent Killer were that stupid.

Now, at six in the morning, Pinkamena waited behind a tree. There was something else, she needed to make sure that the school was the first time any of them saw her again. So, while she was leaving the base, she took something from Blake's room, his mask. The old skull mask he wore when he first tortured her, was now on her face, and it felt...strange. She had her hood over the mask, covering her signature, now straight, pink hair.

No one should be able to see the mask from a distance, only Applejack. She'll know it belongs to a syndicate member, Pinkamena will make sure of it. She shouldn't be able to link the mask back to Blake, and even if she did, oh well.

This, obviously, wasn't how she would settle things with The Apples. She was going to use this opportunity to set up a real meeting, one that would take time and probably a lot of conditions.

Pinkamena stayed behind the tree, her mind wandering as she waited. Her thoughts were about anything from what she planned to do, to Maud. A realization struck her, more of a question, really, where was Cloudy? She hadn't left or anything, all her stuff, including all her clothes, were still there. She wasn't in her room sleeping, and she hadn't gone out, she never did. So where was she? Maud would have told her if something happened to her, right?

Unless, Maud had k-

"Hello? Are you here? I have the money!"

A voice came from the other side of the tree, but, for a moment, Pinkamena didn't recognize it. It was Applejacks. Her accent wasn't there, had she lost it in the three months she was gone? Or was her accent some sort of front, and she lost it when she was serious? That would make some sense, a lot of people in this city aren't fans of country accents. So when it comes to business, she couldn't risk someone she was dealing with being one of those people. So, learning speaks normally when it comes serious matters, was so she didn't risk pissing off business partners. At the same time, an accent can cause miscommunication problems for people who don't hear them often.

"Yes, I'm here."

Pinkamena said as she came out from behind a tree, laying eyes on Applejack for the first time in a long time. The mask made it harder to hear her, but at this range, she knew she could. But, it would be hard to tell if it was masculine or feminine, which helped a lot.

Pinkamena almost chuckled at seeing Applejack, she looked almost the exact same. She was wearing her school outfit, which made sense since it was almost time for school to start. Her hair was in pigtails, she was even wearing her signature hat. But her eyes, they had dark bags under them. Her face was pale, her eyes had a lack of light in them, it was obvious she's had many sleepless nights. And the stress of one of her best friend's being missing, losing family members, and this new threat of an uncatchable killer, it couldn't be good for her health.

"Who are you?"

That would be the first question she asks.

"I'm not answering any questions until I see the money."

Applejack reached into her pocket, pulling out a wad of cash tied together with a band. It was about one hundred dollars, she didn't want or need the money it just an excuse.

"Give it to me, and I'll tell you where she is."

Hesitantly, she stepped forward, her entire body tense. She was obviously paranoid, her desperation for answer probably the only reason she even showed up. She had every right to be.

The second her arm was close enough, Pinkamena grabbed her by her forearm, quickly turning around and slamming her against the tree, the bundle of cash landing somewhere in the grass. Pinkamena's left hand was pinning AJ's right arm against the tree. While Pinkamena's right hand was clenched around her throat. But she didn't seem to be surprised, in fact, she seemed to be expecting it. From somewhere hidden on her body, Applejack pulled out a gun. Pinkamena looked down at the silver revolver pointed against her stomach, not afraid, just amused.

"Huh. The Rhino Revolver, made by The Chiappa company. Highly similar to The Mateba in design, the barrel, unlike most guns, is under the cylinder. This allows the holder to shoot from the 6:00 position instead of the 12:00, this also allows the shooter to fire faster and with more accuracy. Interesting taste."

Pinkamena stated, causing Applejack to be stunned at this person's detailed knowledge of guns, something that could be an advantage in a gunfight.

"How...could ya'll?"

Her accent was returning, because she was afraid. That made sense, hard to concentrate when someone's hand is around your throat.

"Just one of my memories belonged to a leader who was a gun freak."

That was true, she had all the knowledge they dead. Which was how to lead, but also their hobbies and things that they took interest in. But she didn't have their actual memories, at least, not yet.

That just seemed to make her more confused.

"Your...what?"

Pinkamena sighed, she didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Nothing, nevermind. Just put down the gun, I don't want to hurt you, you won't shoot me. I'm here representing The Syndicate, I just want to talk to you."

Applejack seemed to calm down at that, but her gun was still against Pinkamena's stomach.

"How do ah know I can trust ya?"

Her accent was still there, it was affecting her dialect, but it wasn't as strong.

"You can't, but do you really want to risk a war over your paranoia?"

Applejack considered that, and hesitated. Then, she sighed and she slowly pulled the gun away.

"I'll put it back in my holster when you put me down."

It seemed she wasn't afraid anymore, or she at least was able to compose herself, her accent was almost entirely gone. Honestly, it was almost impressive how she could switch like that, it must have taken a lot of practice to learn how to do it like that. That could be a useful skill, maybe something she should consider doing.

"Fine."

Pinkamena dropped her, backing away to give her personal space. Applejack did what she said, and put the revolver back in a holster hidden in her boot, no wonder she hadn't seen it. But Applejack was now very cautious, understandably so. Pinkamena only pushed her against the tree like that to see if she really was alone, luckily, she was.

"I'm going to make this very simple an short, neither of us have a lot of time. The Syndicate isn't behind the killings, though I can understand why you'd think that, our behavior the last three months has been suspicious. The Silent Killer doesn't seem to be aligned with anyone, they are, in every sense, a vigilante."

Applejack was listening patiently, it was obvious she hadn't actually suspected The Syndicate, but there wasn't anything to target, and she needed a target, a scapegoat.

"I know, I know. But, there was no other choice. If I didn't point them towards something, with so many of us dying, I don't know what would happen, but it wouldn't be good. The problem is, unless you can catch this vigilante, a war is inevitable."

Pinkamena picked up the money off the ground, tossing it towards Applejack.

"Yeah, I figured that was the case. Would it be impossible to ask for more time?"

Applejack caught the money and put it in her pocket, crossing her arms after doing so.

"If you mean convincing everyone to hold off, no, just very difficult. And what makes you think I would? With someone like Igneous as your leader, I can't really-

"Igneous is dead."

Pinkamena's voice held no emotion, she couldn't afford to.

"Did...The Silent Killer?"

Applejack's hesitated, she hadn't liked Igneous at all, but she was Pinkie's father, she didn't want him dead!

"No, it was an internal thing."

She left it at that, she hadn't come up with something to tell other organizations yet.

"Who's the new leader?"

Pinkamena wanted to tell her 'me! I'm the one who killed Igneous!' as if to brag. But, that would've been idiotic. Eventually, she would learn who she was, but not yet.

"Since this is something that hasn't happened in a long time, no one right now, it's currently being decided. Right now, we have a small council of people running things until one is decided."

That was technically true, except that there was a leader, standing right here.

"What about-

Before Applejack could ask another question, the school bell rang in the distance, it seemed they would both be late.

"No more questions, you don't have time. Listen, we need to have a long talk later, there's much to discuss. Do you have a place in mind?"

Pinkamena asked quickly, she didn't mind being late, but Applejack probably did, and she couldn't afford to annoy her right now.

"Yeah, Warehouse number fourteen at The New York Harbor, we own it and can have it cleared if needed. Will that do?"

"Yes, I'll meet you there around ten tonight, if that time works for you?"

Applejack hesitated, Pinkamena didn't like that.

"Do you want me to come alone? Or do you mind a bodyguard?"

Pinkamena smirked.

"Surprise me."

Pinkamena began to walk away, she needed to change her clothes before going to school, at least a little bit.

"Wait!"

Applejack shouted at her, Pinkamena stopped.

"Do you...actually know anything about Pinkie?"

Pinkamena considered not answering her and keep walking, but something kept her put.

"Yes."

Applejack's face lit up, a mixture of relief and happiness coming over her. She obviously had dozens of questions she wanted to ask, but she both didn't have the time, and had no reason to believe they'd be answered. So, she decided only to ask one.

"How is she?"

Of all the questions she could've asked, she chose that one. Pinkamena was conflicted, there were so many different ways to answer this, so many different risks, but not answering was riskier.

"Alive."

Pinkamena needed a smoke.

She's never done drugs before, neither has she had alcohol. But, almost all of the previous did something of that variety, most suffered because of it. The reasons were usually the same, they could have done it because of stress, being the leader of arguably the biggest organization in the world had a lot of responsibilities and actions with numerous consequences. But most of the time, it was an escape. A way for them to forget about the reality they live in, if only for just a moment.

And right now, she really needed an escape.

Pinkamena figured she could skip first period, it's not like people are actually expecting her to show up anyway. After getting some free cigarettes and a lighter, because no sane person would make the leader of The Syndicate pay for something, Pinkamena walked out of the gas station, ignoring the people around her.

She was still wearing the same clothes as before, she hadn't changed just yet. The mask was in her hood pocket, but she didn't intend to put it on again until the meeting, or if something else happened. Pinkamena looked up at the sky, pulling back her hood as she did. Her silky straight came out, as her pale blue eyes looked up. For the first month, she had gotten plenty of the sky, more than she'd like. But for the two months after that, she was locked in a building neglected of sunlight, so seeing it like this after so long was...refreshing.

She almost wanted to just bask in it, screw everyone and everything else and just take a day off. But, she couldn't, The Whispers wouldn't let her. As she looked up at the sky, she saw something else, something out of the corner of her eye she could just barely make out. Across the street in an alleyway, stood Igneous. Pinkamena was only able to look at him for a few seconds, before he retreated deeper into the alleyway, where she couldn't see him.

"Of fucking course!"

Pinkamena muttered under her breath quiet enough to where only she could hear, a scowl coming over her face. It was The Whispers, ruining her moment of peace. After sighing to herself, Pinkamena walked across the street into the alleyway, she did have time and some questions.

Propped against the wall, Igneous stared at her, that cocky smile on his face. Pinkamena would have punched him, but there wouldn't have been a point, he wasn't really there. She had killed him, ripped his beating heart out of his body, which raised her first question.

"Why?"

Pinkamena almost whispered, barely able to hide the rage in her voice. But he just tilted his head, almost like he was confused.

"Why what? You're going to have to be specific with your questions if you want answers."

It even had his snarky personality.

"You have dozens of options to choose from, people I have never met, or maybe even people I have! So, why out of everyone's memories you have, did you choose my fucking father as the person you want to appear as!"

Pinkamena yelled, not really caring if anyone passing by heard her, it's not like they could do anything. He only snickered in response.

"Because, it immensely pisses you off. And that anger? That rage you feel for your father? It makes you predictable, easier to manage."

His voice was so matter of fact, that alone was enough to piss her off. She turned around, refusing to look at him.

"Then I'll just ignore you."

Again, it snickered.

"Well, then maybe you'll prefer this?"

Before Pinkamena could say anything, he appeared in front of her. She was slightly surprised, he appeared in front of her in an instant. But, she immediately noticed the difference. This wasn't just her father, this was her father the last time she saw him. There was a huge hole in his check, his ribcage had been ripped open, his heart missing. Blood began to puddle at his feet, reaching to hers. But instead of backing away, she just chuckled, look at him in the eyes, and smiled.

"You're going to have to try harder than that."

It's smiled widened, almost like it enjoyed the challenge.

"Very well."

Again, in an instant, he was going. Before Pinkamena could look to see where he want, a hand touched her shoulder from behind. Quickly, she turned around, prepared to slit the throat of whoever it was. But she stopped a look of horror on her face. It was Blinkie! Worms were coming out of holes from her decaying face, her eyes were completely gone, leaving only empty sockets that seemed endless. Her mouth was wide open, revealing her decaying tongue and insides. Her entire torso ripped open, rats and organs falling out.

"Why didn't you save us, Pinkie?

The voice sounded wrong and distorted, resembling a ghoul or a zombie. Pinkamena tried backing away from the ghoul creature in front of her, but she bumped into something. Slowly, she looked behind her.

"No..."

Inkie stood behind her, just like her sister. Her flesh peeling off as her body decomposed, worms and maggots coming out of almost every orifice, almost. Unlike Blinkie, her eyes weren't entirely gone. Her eyes hanging out of the sockets, just barely hanging on by the optical nerve. But, somehow, they still moved, seeming to look straight at her.

"Did you even care? Did you ever even try to look for us? Or did we not matter to you at all!"

The voices seemed to screamed, their unnaturalness booming in her ears.

"I...I..."

Pinkamena couldn't say anything, there was nothing she could say. She had abandoned them, her own sisters. They had been kidnapped, left to die in the woods by themselves, and she hadn't once tried looking for them. They were dying, and she had let them, she might as well have killed them herself.

"I'm so sorry, I-I wanted to help, but I couldn't-I didn't know...please, I'm sorry."

Pinkamena's voice was barely a whisper, as she muttered to her zombie sisters. But they didn't seem to listen, or they didn't care. They pushed her against, their blood and worms dripping onto her. They kept asking her why she didn't save them, if she even cared. Their disembodied voices overlapped each other, as she felt the worms and maggots crawling all over her, attempting to enter her body through any orifice they can find. Their blood began to make a pool under them, as their blood dropped on her face and body, landing on the dirty floor of the alleyway.

She had been pushed against the brick wall of a building, horrified at what was before her. She tried to push them away, but their skin seemed to fall off wherever she touched. She eventually gave in and went into the fetal position, her head facing towards the ground as she used her arms to cover her head. She didn't look up, she couldn't see their faces anymore. She couldn't even hear their voices, not really. They were just ambient noises, she wasn't sure if it was The Whispers taking pity on her, or is she just couldn't hear what they were saying anymore. All she could do was whisper 'I'm sorry' to over again, more to herself than them.

She wasn't sure when, or how long it took, but they eventually just disappeared. The worms and maggots stopped crawling, the pool of blood disappeared, their skin was no longer under her nails. Five minutes after their voices stopped, fearfully, she looked up. Igneous stood before her, his hands in his pockets, he looked down at her, satisfaction and sadism in his eyes as a smile stretched across his face.

"You didn't seem to ignore that so easily, huh?"

He asked her sarcastically, but she didn't respond.

"You may have noticed that was different than before, well, let me explain."

He crouched down, bringing his eyes down to her.

"We can do more than just make you see things, we have access to your entire brain. We can recreate feelings, any you, or us, have experienced. Which includes touching decomposing bodies, being isolated, and..."

He brought up his hand and snapped his fingers, his smile growing a little wider. Suddenly, the alleyway began to fill with Pinkamena's screams. Her entire body brimmed with pain, her brain felt like it was exploding! Her insides felt like there was shrapnel embedded in her organs, he bones felt like they were breaking, her muscles felt like they were tearing! But her body wasn't healing, because the injuries weren't actually there. She now lay on her side, clutching her head as she tried to hold back her cries of pain, Igneous looking down at her curiously.

"Pain, the torture you've been through has given you an impressive pain tolerance. But we have been through countless agonizing experiences, including death. No amount of pain tolerance could prepare you for that, we could keep you in permanent pain if we felt like it, or when you need to be punished."

Once again, he snapped his fingers, and the pain was gone. She opened her eyes, not sure when she had closed them. She began to sit up, questioning whether that just happened, her body felt fine, like it wasn't just in agonizing pain.

"Now, listen closely, cause this is the only warning you get. You will listen to us, everything we tell you to do, you do. There's always a reason behind it, and that reason is always in the best interest of The Syndicate, they take top priority. Now, if you somehow manage to ignore the pain, which you wouldn't be the first, there's still something we could do."

He put his hands on the side of her face, caressing her cheek, she was too in shock to move away.

"Did you know your brain isn't capable of making new faces, but can combine parts from ones you do know to make one? With all our memories, we could create an entirely new person, at least to you. There would be no warning, and since we can recreate feelings, you will have no way of knowing if that person is real or not. Imagine that, not knowing if someones really there, if they really exist. So, we could make you love someone, more than you've ever loved anyone. And we could make them die, and you'd never know they weren't real. Makes hard to trust reality when everything you know can be fake."

He rose up, looking down at her as she looked up at him, unable to respond in any way.

"Consider that your warning. Oh! One more thing, that chill you've been feeling? That's a privilege. That's us suppressing your emotions, at least for a bit. In our experiences, we've realized emotions are a weakness. That cold allows you to think, prevents your judgment from being clouded, it is you at your best. But, when it comes to the more powerful emotions like anger, we let you feel it. Not because we can't suppress it, but because if you didn't feel anything, the results would be...unpleasant.

We don't have to do that, it just makes it easier for you to do your job. So if you resist or ignore us, you will regret it. Now, get out of this alleyway, and fix this."

And just like that, he disappeared, like he was never there in the first place. Pinkamena lay there, trying to process everything that just happened. Eventually, that same cold returned, and the fear and anger she had felt before was gone. She got up, walked out the alleyway, and towards the school.

Now she really needed a smoke. 


	4. Chapter 2 Part Two

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/ Chapter Two: Reunion: Part Two. / Story: Men and Monsters. / by Perfectly Insane /-/

Celestia's office was actually quite small, maybe the size of her room? Whether that was due to funding, preference, or it used to be some other room, she didn't know. But, as Pinkamena walked into the office and noticed how small it was, she realized something else, this was her first time in the office. She hadn't thought about it until now, but she had rarely been in trouble. Not that she had never done anything questionable, she certainly had. It's more she just never got caught doing anything that she would get in trouble for, that wasn't counting her rebellious phase or the amount of 'pranks' she used to pull, that was something else entirely.

Pinkamena looked at Celestia's back as she sat in the chair on the other side of the desk in her chair, looking out the window at something. She flinched when Pinkamena came in and shut the door, she had not been expecting anyone. She began to turn the chair around.

"Can I help yo-"

Celestia began to say, curious who would be coming in at this time. When she saw who it was, she almost didn't recognize who it was. The figure before her was in clothing she didn't usually see, except for when Luna was younger, but that's not a time Celestia likes to think about. But when she saw that pink hair, despite it not being in its usual puffy form. And the baby blue eyes, though the light in them was absent. There was only one person that it could be, Celestia jumped out of her chair, looking at Pinkamena with surprise and worry.

"Pinkie! I'm so glad you're okay! Your friends are going to-"

"Sit down, Celestia. We have things we need to discuss."

Pinkamena said as she sat down in a chair in front of the desk, her voice cold and direct. Celestia was shocked, this wasn't a tone she had ever heard from the party planner before. What happened to her?

"What do you mean? We need to notify the police! Your friends will be relieved when-"

"Sit. Down. Now."

She said again, her voice more demanding this time, almost threatening. Celestia, confused and concerned, slowly sat in the chair. Pinkamena nonchalantly pulled out the pack of cigarettes she had gotten earlier, she hadn't had the chance to smoke them yet, she might as well now. She opened the pack and put one in her mouth, pulling out a light as she did so, completely ignoring the no smoking sign on Celesta's desk. Celestia looked at her with a disgusted and disapproving look, not imagining Pinkie out of all of them would pick up such an unhealthy habit!

"Put that out right now! You can't smoke in-"

Pinkamena silenced her with a look, a threatening one, one Celestia wasn't used to seeing. Celestia stayed silent, she wasn't sure what Pinkamena could do to her, or what had happened to her the past three months, but she had to stay calm about this if she wanted to help her. Pinkamena then lit the cigarette, putting the lighter back in her pocket and inhaling deeply. She then pulled the cigarette out and held it in her fingers, holding it over a trashcan near the desk. She then heavily exhaled, at least having the decency to not exhale in Celestia's face. She blew the smoke to her left, her body relaxing, but she her face was the same, except for a slight frown as she looked at the cigarette, she seemed disappointed.

"That...was not at all what I was expecting, I was hoping for more of a release, I guess smoking really is overrated. Anyway, as I was saying."

Pinkamena looked at Celestia, who was looking at her with the same face of disgust and disapprovement, but this time with worry.

"The police have already been notified of my state of being, in as much detail as necessary, but more than you'll be getting. As for my friends, walking through the hallway right after first period while everyone is getting to their classes, assures they will be notified. Now, that leaves the problem of my enrollment."

Pinkamena then pulled out a small folder from her pocket, sliding it across the desk towards Celestia. She looked at it both fearfully and curiously, hesitant in opening it. But she did, she picked open the folder and opened it. And as soon as she did, her eyes widened in shock and fear, looking up at Pinkamena and back at the folders, questioning how and why she has this.

"T-this is-"

"About a decade or so ago, a gas station was robbed, about two hundred and fourteen dollars were stolen. Nobody was killed, but the guy who was manning the register was shot, though it wasn't fatal, I can't imagine it was pleasant. He lived, but the culprit was never caught. Now, this place did have a camera, but it's a very old camera. So it wasn't too hard to claim that it wasn't recording. But, Celestia, let's just say you have a few friends with influence. And when they saw who the culprit was,"

Pinkamena took another puff of her cigarette, watching Celestia curiously. Celestia laid the folder on the desk in front of her, as if she was done looking at it. She closed her eyes and laid her hands gently on the desk, she inhaled and exhaled slowly, in an effort to calm herself. She then slowly opened her eyes, looking at the picture on the table worriedly. The picture on top was one of three, but the other two couldn't be seen. The picture on top was in black and white, and revealed the inside of a gas station. Food and drinks were on shelves and a man stood behind a cash register. But there were two people in the picture, the man behind the cash register, and a hooded figure right under the camera. Whoever this person was, they must have either not known it was there, or figured it didn't work. They were wearing a large hoodie that covered a good portion of their body, except for their face.

Normally, a person probably wouldn't be able to see their face. But from where they were standing from the camera, it could be seen clearly. The person in the hoodie was Luna.

"They decided it would be better if people didn't know who did the robbery, for both you and her."

Pinkamena exhaled again, the smoke going to her left. Celestia looked up at Pinkamena, but this time there was a different look in her eyes, anger. She released a loud sigh, whatever had happened to Pinkie had changed her, for the worse, it would seem. And from the way she was talking, she had gotten in with the wrong crowd.

"Luna had been going through a rebellious phase, but hers was more dangerous than most. She had gotten mixed up with the wrong people, and she owed them money. If she hadn't gotten them the money she owed them, the results would've been...unpleasant. Afraid for herself and me, she got desperate and robbed a gas station. She didn't hurt anyone, seriously, and going to the police wasn't an option. So I helped her hide, at least until the heat passed. She paid them what she owed and they left us alone, and the police never had a reason to suspect us. I never imagined anyone would be helping us though, I suppose it would be too much to ask who?"

Celestia's tone was hesitant and cautious, but calm. Pinkamena only looked back with a grin on her face, taking another puff of her cigarette.

"Yep, sorry."

Pinkamena said nonchalantly, being blunt made this easier. Celestia kept her gaze strong, she didn't look away.

"I see. Well, I take it you want something? You wouldn't be showing me this otherwise. Blackmail, while never something this dangerous, isn't something I'm unfamiliar with."

Pinkamena raised her eyebrow slightly, perhaps she had underestimated Celestia.

"You're right, I do want something. Turning this in as evidence would get charges against Luna, and maybe you, depending on whether or not you feign ignorance. What I want is simple, I want to enroll in the school, finish my year. I was a year ahead, so this should be my senior year. I just want to be treated like a normal student, simple scheduling and tested. And don't give me special treatment, don't be afraid to give me detention or suspend me if I get in trouble, and no questions, they annoy me."

Pinkamena took one more puff of her cigarette and threw it in the trash can, getting up out of the chair and walking towards the door. Celestia looked up at her surprisingly, also slightly worried about the fire hazard of throwing a cigarette in a trash bin full of cigarettes, but that wasn't an immediate problem.

"That's it? You just want to come back to school? That's...actually really normal. I'm sure what I expected, but not that."

Pinkamena looked at her as she stood in front of the door, looking down at Celestia.

"I've never had any problems with you, there's nothing else I really want. After what happened, I just want to graduate and move on with my life. Nothing more, nothing less."

Pinkamena turned around and opened the door, the hallway on the other side was completely empty, seems all the students went to there classes.

"Pinkie,"

Pinkamena stopped, not bothering to turn around.

"Are you ok?"

Pinkamena turned her head to Celestia, she was looking up at her. Not with worry or fear, but with concern.

"No."

The rest of the day had been pretty peaceful, of course, teachers and other students were very hesitant and cautious around her, which is what she wanted. She kept them away and avoided them as much as possible. She did her classwork within minutes since it was so easy for her, and the rest of the class was very boring. She tried sleeping, but that was proving to be...difficult. Whether it was because of The Whispers, or if what happened the last three months has given her problems sleeping, both were likely.

Well, the day had been peaceful, until lunch, that is. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry, so she decided to stay in the courtyard until lunch passed. That was when her old friends confronted her, none of them were happy. But, after some shouting from them, she had managed to escape them. But, there was one problem, there were two of them missing.

She didn't really care about the well being of any of them, it was more out of curiosity, really. She figured Twilight has isolated herself somewhere so she could focus on looking for her, it was likely she hadn't even received the news yet. But Rainbow Dash? Nowhere to be seen. She had expected her to be one of the first to confront her, but she didn't. When she wasn't even there with the others, she was actually surprised. But, after what happened with them, it was too late to ask them.

Having nothing better to do until she had to meet with Applejack, she decided she was going to investigate after school. She really didn't feel like dealing with people, so she didn't ask anyone what happened, or anything. After what happened in the courtyard, she started avoiding people, more than she already was. Which wasn't very hard, because after what happened in the courtyard, they were also avoiding her. The rest of the day just kind of continued like that, her avoiding everyone else, completing her classwork faster than anyone else, and was left extremely bored, was this how the rest of the year was going to be?

There was one problem though, she was being watched. Well, that was obvious. Everyone in the school was watching her, either out of curiosity, or fear. Not just that, but it seems some of her classes were shared with Sunset and the others. Not all of them at once, that would have been borderline intolerable. She had one class with just Sunset, a class with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, one with Fluttershy and Rarity, and one with just Twilight. She knew she had one with Rainbow Dash because of the teacher calling off attendance, but, of course, Rainbow Dash wasn't there. Twilight was the same, the teacher called her name, but she wasn't there. If she had to guess, Twilight had spent the majority of her time trying to find her, she had been missing days at school to do so. She probably Sunset and the rest bring her school work, and she still had to come in for a test. But she could be wrong, she had no idea what she's missed around here the last three months.

But that isn't who she was being watched by, not by other students, not by Sunset and her friends, not even by Celestia or Luna. She probably wouldn't have been able to notice it before, but her senses were increased now. Her hearing was better, a lot better. If close enough, she could tell each individual heartbeat of everyone around her, she could probably tell who someone was and there current state of being from hearing their heartbeat alone. She could hear Sunset's anger and other mixed emotions, the fear and uncertainty of the students and teachers, she didn't even want to begin on the emotions of the other four.

There was another heartbeat, this one was right outside the school building, and that's where it stayed. Whenever she moved, it moved. It always stayed too far away for her to see, but that didn't mean they couldn't see her. She could tell this heart from the others because of how calm it was, unlike the other people around her, there was no other emotions, no inner turmoil. It actually impressed her how calm this person was, their heartbeat was very slow, how they were able to be so relaxed was something she'd actually like to know. It was obvious this person was following her, either that, or this was just one huge coincidence. After everything that's happened in Pinkamena's life, she didn't believe in coincidences anymore.

After school was over, which was dreadfully long, she decided to confront this mysteriously calm person. It seemed after school was over, the person watching her stopped following her, they had stopped moving. Pinkamena went straight to where the heartbeat was, she had no idea who it was or how long they would be there, it could be The Silent Killer for all she knew.

The place this person was at was none other than the park she had met up with Applejack, whether this was intended or coincidence, she was still suspicious. She sat in the same spot she had shoved AJ against the tree, had this person been watching her then? If so, how did she not notice them? Whoever they were, she could feel them watching her, but their heartbeat was still the same calm as before.

"Come on and show yourself already, I know you're there and that you're watching me. Why don't we have a little talk? I'm sure you wouldn't want me make you come out."

There was the sound of rustling in the trees around her, but the heartbeat didn't move. It stayed still in a tree to her far left, remaining completely still. But then, there was another heartbeat, then another, then two or three more, all in the trees around her! Dozens of heartbeats began to beat in the trees around her, each one with a different pulse. Had these been animals hiding in the trees? But then why would she only just now hear them? Her eyes began moving between the trees, trying to find the original she came here for. As she looked around frantically, the trees began rustling one at a time, as if something was jumping between them. She tried her hardest to discern the original, one that was calm or didn't go as fast as the others. As she heard the dozens of heartbeats around her, the rustling in the trees got more frequent, and closer to her. She noticed none of the heartbeats were changing, they seemed to stay the same, not getting faster or slower at all! Almost mechanical, except for one that had jumped, one that was

"Behind you."

A voice whispered behind her, not sure how or when they got there without her noticing. She then felt the person behind her grab her by the shoulder with one hand and began to pull her back, while the other hand was coming into her eyesight towards her neck, she could see the sunlight reflecting off the knife. She reacted almost immediately, she pushed herself backward with her feet towards them, but they were ready.

They let go of her and jumped away, letting her see this person as they came into her sight. They were slightly taller than her, but they had a slightly smaller bulk, though it was hard to tell with what they were wearing. They wore black clothing that resembles the color and texture of kevlar, but somehow seemed more comfortable and flexible, as the person wearing it didn't seem to have any problems moving around quickly, almost as fast as her. There were red marks on the kevlar, almost the color of blood. They were in sets of five, four straight vertical lines with a fifth horizontal one going through it, there were several of these on her. Were they a kill count? She didn't know, nor did she care.

They had a black face mask on that covered almost there entire face, except for their eyes, those were covered by dark sunglasses. The only thing she could tell for sure of this person was their short hair, which was brown and scraggly. They also wore black shoes, she couldn't what kind they were, but they seemed like they were comfortable and easy to move around in. Pinkamena caught herself, stopping herself from falling. But her assaulter was faster than she expected, and smarter. Instead of lunging towards her like she expected them to do, they threw the knife at her with extreme accuracy. The knife was aimed directly at her, she was barely able to react in time. Her hands wouldn't have gotten to her face fast enough, she did have to catch it in her mouth, her new faster reflexes helped. But immediately grimaced in disgust, they had to have put something on it, because it tasted disgusting, like rotten meat and relish! She spits it out on the ground, spitting a few more times as she tried to get the taste out of her mouth.

"That's...impressive, that should have been tasteless. I don't understand how you were able to taste it, Chimeras really are amazing."

Pinkamena, for a split second, forgot they were there. But when she heard the muffled voice, she reacted immediately. Without thinking, she jumped toward them, her feet briefly leaving the ground. In seconds, she was in front of them, and they seemed genuinely surprised, like they hadn't been expecting her to move that fast. They looked at her face as they tried to jump back, her eyes having a tint of red to them, she wasn't letting them get away. While they were still in her range, she grabbed them by the neck with her left hand. She quickly kicked them in the back of their knee causing them to lose their balance, she tightened her grip on their neck as she slammed them into the ground, hard.

She saw them reach for a knife in their shoe, but she slammed her foot on their hand, but not hard enough to break anything, probably. She held her arm out as small lines of steam came from her fingers, as her fingernails extended into claws. Fangs could be seen as a sadistic smile on her face appeared, her eyes now completely crimson. She pulled them towards her as her claws came down.

"Wait! The Syndicate sent me!"

They outstretched both of their arms above them, as if to surrender, not seeming to be affected by the pain in their hands that they must be feeling. Their voice was hard to make out since it was muffled from the face mask, and strained since her hand was around their throat, but she could still hear it. Disappointedly, she dropped them to the ground, she had really wanted to kill them. She stood up straight as she looked down at them, lifting her foot off their hand, her eyes slowly turning back to blue and her claws retracting and turning back to nails.

"So, The Syndicate's trying to kill me now?"

She asked skeptically, something was telling her to just kill him, and she wasn't sure it was The Whispers. they got up slowly, using one of their hands to lower the face mask, while the other was used to take off their glasses. This person was a guy, their sharp jaw and brown trimmed beard were revealed to be under the face mask, paired with brown eyes and cocky smile Pinkamena really wasn't liking. His eyes were sunken and had dark bags under them, showing he had spent the majority of the time without sleep. He was also extremely pale, this guy was either really dedicated to following and killing people, or had some serious problems. But who was she to judge? He walked over to the knife she had spit out, he slowly put it in a hidden pocket as she watched him like a hawk.

"They didn't send me to kill you, they sent me to watch over you. You kind of made a pretty unnerving first impression when you woke up, made some people want to take precautions. Many of the people in high power agreed on having you watched, Discord approved it."

He walked towards her holding out his hand, she didn't even acknowledge it, she just kept staring at him with an annoyed look on her face, this guy was too eccentric for her liking. When she didn't shake his hand, he laughed awkwardly and lowered his hand.

"My names Juno! And despite first impressions, I'm actually quite a nice guy!"

Pinkamena looked at his clothing again, the red marks on his clothes, the way he hid his knives and the rest of his body, she didn't need The Whispers to tell her what he was.

"Those red marks on your clothes, those are your kill count, right?"

He flinched at that, his smile faltering as he smiled awkwardly again.

"Heh, smart as they said you'd be too."

Pinkamena sighed impatiently as she closed her eyes, she had enough to deal with without The Syndicate working behind her back because of their paranoia.

"They sent an assassin, who just tried to kill me, to spy on me? I suggest you begin explaining, before I just kill you and ask them myself to be safe."

Pinkamena said it threateningly as she opened her eyes, but he didn't get scared, just nervous. She was listening closely to his heartbeat, and while it was faster than before, it was still calm.

"I told you I wasn't trying to kill you! Alright, so I was sent to watch over you, right? Make sure you don't do anything stupid, because having those memories inserted into you has had a history with of messing with someone's mind. And while they were briefing me about you, I couldn't help but be curious! They told me you passed the test with flying colors and killed Igneous, I couldn't even scratch that guy, and I've tried! When I first saw you shove Applejack against that tree, I could barely contain my excitement! So, I put myself in range of your incredible hearing, and knowing you'd be intrigued by someone following you who could control their heartbeat as well I can, you'd come to check it out!

So I placed some recordings of some heartbeats in the trees and began to play them whenever you showed up, to see if you could tell the difference. Which you didn't, at least not in time, and that kind of disappointed me! And you know the rest! I won't lie, I'm impressed! The poison I put on that knife is tasteless and fast acting, able to kill a full grown man in minutes if it gets into their bloodstream. But you were actually able to taste it! You were also able to hear me talking to myself in the facemask when I'm usually very quiet, and you were super fast too! And those were really cool!"

He suddenly jumped forward and grabbed her hand and stared at it for a few seconds, as if expecting the claws just to pop out. But she quickly pulled her hand back, disappointment was evident on his face, but it was replaced by that same bubbly attitude in seconds, an attitude she was too familiar with. Whoever decided to assign this guy to watch over her clearly had a sense of humor.

"Anyway, the reason they chose me is because they told me you have a habit of getting into trouble. So if you get into a fight that you can't handle for whatever reason, then I will come in to save the day!"

"Or if I do something they don't approve of, you can stop me. Or kill me and blame it on someone or something else."

Silence filled the forest once again, neither spoke for what felt like hours.

"Yes, I suppose that is true. But, it's my job, I enjoy it, and I get paid very well to do it. Enough to where I don't need to kill you for your bounty, I already make enough. I'm really hoping we can become friends, and when I don't have to spy on you anymore, we can look back on this and laugh!"

Pinkamena scoffed, she almost regretted not killing him.

"I would say that as the leader of The Syndicate, I override your orders and command you to fuck off. But, I haven't been the leader long enough for them to trust me, and I'm not a dictator, I'm not going to abuse my power like that, not unless I absolutely have to. Besides, I kicked your ass two minutes ago, so you're obviously not a threat."

He tilted his head as if confused what she was talking about, then his eyes widened slightly as he clapped his hands in realization.

"Oh! No, you misunderstand! I really was just testing you! If I wanted you dead…"

In seconds, he pulled the knife from his shoe and jumped forward, faster than he was before. Pinkamena almost couldn't react, the knife was pressed against her throat, ready to cut into flesh. But Pinkamena quickly extended her claws and wrapped her hand around his throat again, her eyes turning crimson once again. But this time, he was the one with a smile on his face.

"You'd just be another corpse."

That bubbly attitude of his was gone, replaced by something else. That smile on his face was not a sadistic one, but one meant to taunt. His eyes seemed to have lost their light, nothing in them now but cold emptiness. His entire body was relaxed, she could almost not hear his heartbeat, there was no fear or hesitation, this was an assassin. She now knew why they chose him, not only could he be a joyful person like she used to be, but he could also be a cold-blooded killer when needed, she might actually like this guy.

As much as she would have enjoyed to see if this guy was all talk, there was something else, a third heartbeat. This wasn't like the recordings, this was real, she could practically smell the fear.

"We have a visitor."

He said almost casually, but neither moved.

"I know, truce?"

He hesitated, but moved away when she let go of his throat, feeling her claws retract and seeing her eyes slowly change back to blue. He hopped away from her, quickly putting the knife back in his shoe, she watched him intently.

"Are you going to handle this guest? Or should I?"

He seemed to say eagerly, as if he wanted to show her just how good he was. But if this was who she thought it was, the was cause more problems than it would solve.

"No, I have this. Leave, I know you'll be watching, but that doesn't mean I want to see you."

She was more aggressive than she needed to be, but this day was proving to be arguable the most annoying and frustrating out of a lot she's had.

"Alright, alright! You don't have to be so rude!"

And with that he was gone, he jumped back into the trees to watch her, she was going to have to work on finding a way to lose him, or he was going to be a huge pain.

"Come on out and we can talk, Sunset."

It took a few seconds, but Sunset walked into the field, her hiding spot being behind one of the many trees. She stood beside the tree and stayed there, as if afraid of getting closer. Her heart was beating fast from fear and nervousness, but she could also feel she wasn't going to run. Despite her emotions, her face was neutral and composed, Pinkamena was almost impressed.

"Interesting friend you have, do they all try to kill you?"

Pinkamena smirked at that, she found the accuracy of that question funny.

"Only the ones that I piss off. Why are you following me? I thought we established no contact between us, or do I need to show you how serious I am?"

Pinkamena had intended for that so scare her and make her lose her composure, glaring at her as she made her threat. But Sunset didn't even flinch, she kept staring into her eyes, as if looking for something.

"You won't hurt me or the rest of us, I don't believe it. I don't care what happened to you, you're Pinkie Pie, our pinkie pie! I will do anything I can to save you, I refuse to lose another friend. So I will-"

Before Sunset could finish, Pinkamena had appeared in front of her, her hand wrapped around her throat. She began picking her up by her throat, tight enough to where she wouldn't drop her, but not to where she couldn't breathe. Sunset's hands wrapped around Pinkamena's arm, trying desperately to get free. But she didn't kick her, didn't try to hurt her in any way. She wasn't even afraid, she looked down at Pinkamena, she might have looked like she was struggling to breathe, but she didn't show any fear. Pinkamena, on the other hand, showed just how angry she was.

"What could you possibly understand!? You don't know anything about what I went through! You're just some spoiled little pony princess from another world, who left because nobody paid attention to! You gained all the power you could in the hopes somebody would love you, and then you cried like a little bitch when it didn't work!"

Pinkamena's felt the anger within her rise, this wasn't something that came with her when she changed, this anger had been there. She didn't realize how angry she had been at her, maybe she didn't want to. But The Whispers weren't suppressing it, maybe they were just curious what would happen? But Sunset didn't respond to this, she didn't get angry or sad, like she had expected that.

"I know you're alone. I know you want someone to help you, but you're afraid. You are so afraid of what might happen that you let that fear control you, you let it convince you that it's better this way! But it's not! We're here for you, I'm here for you! And no matter what happens, I will be here! I fell to darkness, so did Twilight. I don't know if what happened to you has anything to do with magic or Equestria, but I'll be damned before I let another friend be corrupted by their own pain!"

Pinkamena's grip loosened, but she didn't let go of her. She lowered her head, she couldn't look into her eyes.

"I am not the one you should be worried about! Don't you get it? I'm not afraid for myself, I'm afraid for you, all of you! We are being watched, right now! If they even think I told you guys anything, they will kill you! I have to avoid you, If I don't, it'll be like you never existed! They will wipe you off history, and I'll be stuck with nothing but the memory of you guys and the guilt!"

Something slid down the side of her face, something warm and wet, it was a tear. Pinkamena dropped her, she fell on her feet surprised and concerned. Pinkamena quickly turned around and wiped the tear off her face, breathing erratically as she held her chest, her heart beating fast, and it hurt. Sunset was looking at her worriedly, one hand was rubbing the large hand-shaped red mark on her neck, the other was reaching to Pinkamena.

The Whispers were watching this entire time, and it seemed they were willing to give a little mercy. Before Pinkamena's emotions made her do something stupid, that same coldness came washing over her. Her heart stopped hurting and was now returning to a normal beat, she was no longer breathing erratically and her body was no longer shaking, it was like they weren't even there to begin with. Sunset's hand rested on top of Pinkamena's shoulders, she quickly turned around, shaking it off. She looked back at Sunset, that same cold straight face was there, no emotions to be seen.

"What happened to Rainbow Dash?"

Sunset flinched, her face changing to that of confusion, she wasn't expecting a change in subject so quickly and easily after that.

"What?"

"When I came back, everyone was there. Except for two people, Twilight, who probably isolated herself so she didn't even know I was back, and Rainbow Dash. I thought that was strange, I figured she'd be the first to confront me. But when she didn't, I asked around, it was unusual for even her not to show up on the first day. As it turns out, like and soon after me, she disappeared. She stopped showing up at school, she was almost never seen outside of school, she didn't respond to text or anything! I'm tempted to go to where she lives just to see how long it's been since someone's been there! What happened!?"

She hadn't intended to be that aggressive, but Sunset had been annoyingly stubborn, and that stacked atop an already annoying day made Pinkamena tense, more so than usual. And if she wasn't assertive, Juno might get the impression that she was important to her, and while they more than likely due already, she was still going to take precautions.

Sunset hesitated in answering, she seemed to hide behind her hair in shame.

"I...don't know."

"You don't know?"

Pinkamena moved closer to her, Sunset didn't seem to notice.

"One of your friends goes missing, she could be fucking dead, and you don't bother to investigate!? This was right after one of your other friends disappeared too! So what, too busy looking for one who's been gone longer to bother with the other one? Or maybe you neglected her? What if the potential loss of one of her best friends was destroying her? What if she was worried sick? Did you ever ask her if she was okay, or were you too focused on trying to find me that you didn't pay attention to your friends that were still there? Maybe she was so sick at the lack of results, that she decided to go off and search herself! Did you even care about her? Me? Any of us? Or is this just some plot to get the elements and turn back into a dem-"

There was a loud smacking sound, Pinkamena was knocked back, touching her face where a hand-shaped red mark was forming, a genuinely shocked expression on her face.

"You...you were gone for three months, you missed a lot, you don't know what's happened while you were gone, and there is a nearly countless list of things that could've happened to you. So, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But, YOU DO NOT GET TO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE!"

Tears were streaming down Sunset's angry face, her hand stretched out in front of her. She stood straight and focused her angry stare on her, the tears still dripping down her face.

"I've dealt with a lot of things, but I've never had to deal the loss of a friend, especially not like that! After we discovered you were missing, we did everything we could, and I mean everything! The police, your family, everyone! We even got into contact with Equestrian Twilight, but there almost nothing she could do. For weeks, we did everything you would think of, and got nothing! And that's when things went bad, it was hard to keep up hope at that point. Fluttershy cried to the point of being so sick she couldn't get out of bed, and any minute she was out of it, she was getting the help of as many animals as she could. Rarity used every connection she had from the dresses she sold to get all the help she could, and I don't even want to imagine what price she had to pay for that. I and this Twilight spent countless sleepless nights making every theory thinkable with what we had to go on, which was practically nothing! Applejack seemed like she knew something, but she was as stubborn as a rock and refused to say anything, ironic since she's honesty. And Rainbow Dash…"

Sunset's anger faded away, the tears no longer flowing. It was changed to a sadder one, one Pinkamena recognized, regret.

"For a while, she was what kept our hopes up, what kept us happy! But after a while, she became distant. She talked less, her usual confident attitude began to fade, she was missing sports and classes, eventually, she just stopped coming to school at all. We saw her occasionally outside of school, until we didn't. We tried to get her to tell us what was wrong, we tried to help! I tried to help! But she just refused to say anything, not even Fluttershy could get her to talk! Eventually, it became impossible to juggle school, searching for Pinkie on our own after everyone else has given up, and trying to help Rainbow Dash. When we stopped seeing her, most just assumed she had left somewhere and she'd eventually come back, they gave up. But I didn't.

I went to her apartment, since she lived by herself, I figured I could find something. But, the landlord wouldn't let me in. So, I settled on asking him questions about her recent behavior, her relationship with her family, stuff like that. And I learned some...unsettling and terrible things. We don't ask each other about our home lives, that's something that we don't talk about unless we want to. We've met your family, and I don't have one, the others aren't something we have any right to ask about. But I learned Rainbow Dash had a really good reason for not talking about hers. Her mother is dead, she was killed in an alleyway by a random mugger while she was pregnant, her father was there with her. Her mother was pregnant with Rainbow Dash, and her dad did a great job of raising her. But, everyone cracks under pressure given enough time.

When she was fourteen, her dad went missing. It's presumed he killed himself, but a body was never found. He left behind a lot of money of for his daughter, plus he was a veteran, so she had no problem living on her own. After learning this, I decided to stop looking, she'd come to us when she wanted to talk. I wan-"

"YOU ABANDONED HER!?"

Pinkamena grabbed her by the shoulders violently, anger and disbelief evident on her face as she looked into Sunsets.

"What? No! I didn't-

"You did! I can see it in your eyes, you barely even looked for her!"

Pinkamena threw Sunset forward, causing Sunset's back to slam into a back. She screamed loudly as pain shot through her back, which was silenced when she fell forward and slammed into the ground. She slowly raised her head to look at Pinkamena, the pain in her back made it hard to move. But as soon as she had, fear-induced adrenaline began pumping through her body, and the pain didn't seem that bad. Pinkamena was slowly walking towards her, her fist clenched so tight blood was dripping down her hands. Her teeth were clenched as looked down in disgust and rage at her, and Sunset was positive her eyes were now a dark shade of red.

"You just stopped looking for her!? You thought that she had just left and that she'd be back, that nothing terrible could've happened to her? What if that's what had happened to me?"

Pinkamena could feel rage boiling inside her, and once again, The Whispers weren't even trying to suppress it. But something about this rage felt different, it didn't feel like it was hers. It felt like it belonged to someone else, almost like the memory of it, and it was coursing through her veins. She could feel her claws cutting into the skin of her clenched fist, she was trying her hardest to stop herself, but this rage, hers or not, was comparable to the rage she felt for Igneous.

"NO! It wasn't like that, please! She was different, it made sense for her, she had a good reason! You were different, you just disappeared! No warning, no reason, nothing! You were perfectly normal before you left! Please, you have to understand! Everyone was drifting apart, when we came together to confront you today in the courtyard, that was the first time we've been together in weeks! If another of us was gone like you, I don't know what would have happened."

Sunset tried to get up, but the pain in her back got worse anytime she tried.

"Oh, I understand."

Pinkamena was now standing in front of Sunset, looking down at her. Her fists were no longer clenched, they lay at her sides, her nails were now claws tainted in her blood. She wasn't smiling at her, her face was that of pure anger, her teeth looked more like that of a lion's than humans, and her eyes were a dark crimson.

"You're a dirty, treacherous, megalomaniac who cares about no one but herself! You don't care about me or Rainbow Dash, you don't care about any of us! You left me to suffer! You left Rainbow Dash alone! You hypnotized the entire school with the power you stole! You're just as bad as the guys who took me. And like them,"

Pinkamena raised her left claw above her head, like a predator about to strike their prey.

"You're going to end up dead by my hands."

Pinkamena's hand came down, Sunset closed her eyes, she could hear her heart beating in her chest frantically out of fear. Before Pinkamena's claws came down upon Sunset, a knife suddenly came out of the woods, and hit the palm of her hand. The knife was sharp enough to cut straight through her hand, leaving a slit that cut across her palm. The knife hit a tree behind her, planting itself firmly in the tree. Pinkamena flinched as she jumped back, looking at her hand in shock, but quickly regained her composure when she looked at the knife.

"Juno...thanks, I would've killed her."

She mumbled thankfully, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. She looked down at Sunset, who still had her eyes closed and was shaking in fear.

"Get up and leave, before I change my mind."

Sunset slowly opened her eyes, barely understanding what she heard. A few more seconds passed, and neither moved.

"NOW!"

Pinkamena shouted, loud and sudden enough to startle nearby birds. Sunset slowly pushed herself up, the pain in her back was slowly fading, but she knew she'd be sore tomorrow. As she stood up, she looked at Pinkamena, both out of fear and curiosity. She once again had her back turned, but didn't seem to be shaking this time. She was looking down at the slit in her left hand, steam was coming off of it as it slowly healed, her claws had turned back to nails. She didn't even seem to be paying attention to Sunset, her cold blue eyes looking at her hand as if she was lost in thought.

"What...are you?"

Sunset asked hesitantly, knowing she was pushing her luck, but she was going to do everything in her power to help her friend, even if it means risking her life. The slit in Pinkamena's hand was now gone, now only blood remained. Pinkamena smiled almost sardonically as she looked at Sunset.

"Honestly? Who knows?"

"So, I take it you have some questions?"

Pinkamena was sitting on the edge of a rooftop, her legs dangling off the sides as she looked down at the city below her. It seemed she had lost track of time, as it was now almost dark, and the city was coming alive. About thirty minutes from now, she'd be meeting with Applejack. And, considering recent events, she figured she should take a break and relax until it was time. She had intended to check Rainbow Dash's apartment and investigate, break and enter if she had to. But there wasn't enough time. Besides, she could do it later, it's not going anywhere.

"A couple, will you indulge me?"

She was going to take this opportunity to talk to The Whispers, she did have a few questions, and she really had nothing better to do while she waited. The Whispers, still taking the form of her dead father, stood behind her, his hands in his pockets as he looked down at her.

"Yeah, might as well."

He sat beside her, put his legs over the edge like hers. For a few moments, there was just silence as they sat beside each other.

"I wonder what Juno will think if he sees you talking to me like this."

"What happened back there?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

He smiled smugly as he said that, and, even though she wasn't looking at him, a look of annoyance came onto hers.

"The first time it happened, when the emotions became stronger than you'd usually let, I'm assuming you did that on purpose to see how I'd handle it. But the second time, it was different. I could feel it, but it didn't feel like it was mine, like it belonged to someone else. Not just that, but I was about to kill Sunset, and I didn't feel you even try to stop me, and I know you could have. If it wasn't for Juno, she would be dead. So, I want to know what happened."

Silence returned once again between the two, Pinkamena wanted to be more aggressive, but she didn't want to piss him off, not yet.

"I suggest you change your tone, I'm not inclined to answer any of your questions. But, I'll let it go this time. Anyway, you are actually quite a common case, when it comes to how you became the leader, minus killing the previous one yourself. Most are apart of the family of the current leader, when they come of age, they're put through the test. If they pass, they are taught and trained to be the next leader. If they fail and the current leader doesn't have any other offspring or can't produce anymore, then another one is selected from a list of candidates. So wh-"

"Wait! When Maud passed the test, she was-"

He snapped his fingers, Pinkamena then began to clutch her head tightly, almost whimpering in pain. He looked at her with annoyance, snapping his fingers again, causing the pain to stop.

"Don't interrupt me, ever. If the leader has multiple offspring who have passed the test, or yet to. He has the option of choosing which one, the others will help in other ways. Now, let me continue. Most of the leaders who were in your situation, after passing the test, had trust issues. When their friends didn't help them, they couldn't help but think their friends had abandoned them, making it hard for them to gain new friends, and to strongly dislike their old friends. So, when you talked to Sunshit Shimmer, and she revealed what happened, it triggered the memories of a lot of leaders who felt their old friends had abandoned them. That anger you felt? You're right, it wasn't yours. Not just yours, anyway. It was the combined anger of all the leaders who had felt betrayed, and they pushed it onto you. So, when it's a mass of emotions that strong coming from us, it becomes kind of difficult to suppress it, even for me. Don't worry though, unless you get into situations that would trigger dozens of different leaders from the past with vastly different personalities, it shouldn't happen again. Easy, right?"

He looked at her with a sarcastic grin, but she wasn't even looking at him. She seemed to be thinking about something, shame they couldn't read her mind. Then again, that spoil all the fun.

"So, why don't you just give me the memories? It would be easier to avoid those situations if I did. I don't under-"

"You will get the memories when we deem you ready. If you pester us about it, you won't like what happens. Any more questions? Because I'm getting really tired of your arrogance."

Pinkamena hesitated, she had one more question, but she wasn't sure she was going to like the answer.

"Did...The Syndicate have anything to do with Rainbow Dash or her parents?"

He visibly tensed up at that, closing his eyes like he didn't want to see the world anymore.

"I'm...not going to answer that one."

Pinkamena suddenly stood up, turning towards him swiftly.

"What do you mean? Why won't you answer? I deserve to know! I need to know If The Syndicate kill-

"I'm. Not. Answering."

He said firmly, almost threatening her if she continued. He didn't open his eyes or stand up, He simply sat at the edge of the roof, almost like he was waiting for something. Pinkamena was about to demand answers, when heard something, a heartbeat. It was faint, which is why she didn't notice it before. It was someone on another rooftop a couple miles away, and from the way it jumped when she turned towards it, it could see her.

"What is it, girl? Johnny fell down a well?"

He said jokingly, she almost ignored him.

"We're-I'm being watched, someone's watching us from a rooftop a couple miles away."

He didn't move from his spot, he didn't even look at her, his only response was a snicker.

"Probably just Juno wondering why you're sitting on the edge of a roof talking to yourself."

Pinkamena didn't turn away, she continued to peer in the darkness towards the heartbeat, as if it would jump out any minute despite it being miles away.

"No, every heartbeat sounds a little different, this isn't Juno's. Besides, Juno knows the range of my hearing, he would stay right outside of it. Something about this heartbeat feels familiar though, I know I've heard it before, but I can't remember who! It's almost like-"

Pinkamena suddenly jumped, a ringing sound coming from directly behind her. Igneous was looking down at a watch that was flashing nine forty in red letters, he smirked to himself as he turned it off.

"Well, as amusing as this is to listen to detective. You've got a meeting to get to, it will take about twenty minutes to get from here to the harbor, not counting traffic. So, I would suggest leaving now."

"But I-"

Pinkamena turned around to face him, but he wasn't there. She turned back around towards the heartbeat, and he was standing right in front her. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around, beginning to push her to the ledge.

"Don't worry about the big bad monster in the dark! It's probably just some mom who came up to dry her clothes or something. You've got a meeting to go to, and Applejack does not like people being late, so go! Or I will make you!"

Igneous had somehow pushed her back the edge of the rooftop, she tried looking past him towards the heartbeat, but he wouldn't let her. She sighed as she looked down into the alleyway, realizing as much as she hated it, he was right.

"Fine, but we are not done!"

Pinkamena begrudgingly jumped off the roof into the next, beginning her trip to the warehouse, already in a bad mood. Igneous watched her with a smile as he began to fade away. But as he slowly did, his smile turned into a frown as he angrily glared at Pinkamena's back.

"Out of everyone who could have been The Silent Killer, why did it have to be you!?" 


	5. Chapter 3

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/ Chapter Three: First Encounter. / Story: Men and Monsters. / by Perfectly Insane /-/

The warehouse they were meeting in was one building among many, no different than the rest. A wide, three-story, dark blue metal building used for, like most, storage and moving things. There were no windows or skylights, and only one door on the front. The only other entrances were two large garages-like doors on both sides, made for the forklifts to carry in whatever they needed to. The lights on the outside were turned on, but she couldn't see or hear anyone. The building was too dense to hear heartbeats, but there were some parked cars outside, and this was definitely the right warehouse, indicated by the giant number fourteen on the front in black letters.

"How much you wanna bet they'll try to kill you?"

She was now standing on the rooftop of the nearest building, looking down at the warehouse. She could feel the groan coming on as she heard The Whispers standing beside her, but instead of groaning, she turned to him with a confused look on her face.

"Betting? You are a literal apparition of my father with the knowledge of all the leaders of the biggest crime organization in the world, what would you even want?"

He let out a loud, almost childlike groan.

"God, you're so boring! Why do you have to rationalize everything! It was just a little fun thing I thought we could add to your melodramatic life, but since you have to apply logic to everything, I guess I have to make this a legitimate bet."

He put his finger on his chin and closed his eyes thoughtfully, leaving Pinkamena slightly baffled. Seconds later, his eyes fluttered open as he pointed into the sky, having a sort of eureka moment.

"Ok, how about this: If they try to kill you, I win, and you have to do something for me. And if they don't, you win, and I'll tell you everything you want to know about Rainbow Dash and her family dilemma. Deal?"

He held out his hand in front of her, waiting for her to come to a decision. She looked down at it suspiciously, and then back at him, this felt like making a deal with the devil.

"Well, Applejack is really honest. And a lot of her family are apart of The Apples, and with The Silent Killer around, it would be stupid to make war with us right now. Rationally, she won't-"

"Oh my god! Why do you have to be so serious when it comes to me, I know you have a sense of humor!"

She looked up at him angrily, he didn't even flinch.

"Because when I look at you, all I see is my father's face, and I remember everything he did to me. I'm then filled with burning rage and a strong urge to kill you in various ways, so pardon me if I find it difficult to treat you casually."

She said as she moved to closer to him, as if she was going to attack him. But he didn't even move, he only shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Fair enough. So, how about it? My arm is getting tired!"

He held up his arm with his other arm by putting it under his elbow, but again, she didn't even smirk. She looked back down at his hand, suspicion still evident on her face.

"Why do I feel like this is more than just a friendly bet?"

He didn't respond, he only waited with his hand outstretched. She looked up at him, then back at his hand, and sighed. Hesitantly, she shook it, and he smiled.

The inside of the warehouse was almost exactly what she imagined it would be, despite never really being in one. It was very dark in there, but she could make out the outlines if the massive ailes of boxes, crates, and numerous other things. Reaching from the floor to the ceiling, dozens of them from what she could see. There was some space in front of them for people and forklifts to move around in, but she couldn't see anywhere else, the entire warehouse was dark, except for one aile. The aile directly in front of her wasn't as dark as the others, it seemed to be the only one with lights in it on, revealing even more ailes. If she had to guess, AJ left this one on as a way to guide her, which made some sense. Pinkamena put on Blake's mask, which she had been keeping in the pocket of her hoody, and proceeded down the aisle.

"Warehouse you've never been to, almost entirely dark, no person to be seen, little suspicious, don't you think?"

"Shut up."

She didn't even need to look, she knew where he was, she could feel him. He was on top of the aile to her left, dangling one of his legs off of it as he looked down at her. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She had expected Applejack to be waiting for her inside or something, but she wasn't. And the fact that she hasn't seen anyone, and there was barely any light in here, made her cautious. She continued down the aile, realizing the lights weren't in a straight line. Whenever she got out of one, another random one would be lit up, and she would follow it at a steady pace. Though, after going through three ailes and nearly getting lost, she picked up her pace, more out of frustration than anything.

"I'm just saying! You don't know if she brought anyone with her or not, you could be being followed right now!"

He appeared behind her, crouched over on his toes like a cartoon character as he followed her, expecting her to turn around after saying that. When she didn't, he actually looked disappointed.

"Or, they could be right in front of you!"

Once again, he disappeared and reappeared right in front of her. This time, his eyes were gone, replaced by empty eye sockets that had blood running down them, the color of the blood was a dark black. He held his hands out the sides of his face, almost like someone in a costume trying to scare a child.

"Boo!"

If she flinched, the mask prevented him from seeing it. She stopped for a moment when he appeared, but then she walked right through him, continuing down the ailes. He turned around towards her, his eyes growing back but the blood remaining, having a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"What? Gotten used to me already? I would hope I'm not that predictable, but that's okay! I've got dozens of tricks, and the imagination and creativity to think of more if those-"

"Seriously, shut up!"

She growled, as she came to a sudden stop. He was about to snap his fingers and give her another agonizing headache, until he saw Applejack. The ailes had led to a small clearing, a small wooden table waited here. Applejack was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of it, still wearing her school clothes, looking at Pinkamena patiently. Big Macintosh stood beside her, seeming to work as her bodyguard. He stood there menacingly as he stared Pinkamena down, wearing his normal red and brown jacket with green apples on the collar, his blue jeans stopping only at his red and white shoes. Before she went into her line of sight, she put the hood over her hair again, leaving only her mask visible.

"Well, seems you did decide to bring a bodyguard. I take it he'll be here overseeing us?"

"Eeyup."

He responded, crossing his arms and continuing to stare at her. Instead of saying some witty comeback, she pulled the other chair forward and sat in it, looking at Applejack as she did.

For a few seconds, there was a tense silence. Neither saying anything, as if they were afraid to do anything. Then, Applejack sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed.

"So, shall we begin? I'm sure we'd both like to just get this over with, so-"

"Where's Pinkie?"

Applejack's tone wasn't one Pinkamena had heard before, it sounded weary and tired. She didn't sound angry like she had expected she would, she sounded...dejected. Like she already knew the answer, but she just needed someone else to say it. Pinkamena hesitated in responding, but she knew what to say, there really was only one way to answer that.

"She's in a coma."

Applejack let out a loud sigh of relief, seeming to tear up.

"Oh thank god! I was afraid she had gone and got herself killed or somethin'! I know you told me she was alive, but I can't help but have problems trusting the word of a complete stranger."

She began to cough, as if just noticing her accent was peeking through.

"Anyway, what happened?"

Pinkamena was ready for this, this was the story she was going to go with, for as long as she had to.

"She was found unconscious in her home three months ago, and after she didn't wake up for two days, we realized something was terribly wrong. Since she was one of Igneouss' daughters who had yet to go through the test, she was given the best treatment by The Syndicate. She's been in a coma for the past three months, but, about a week ago, she woke up. Which was good, until we realized something, she had no idea who she was. She could speak the English language and remember her name, but that was it. This leads us to believe the cause of her coma was some sort of blunt trauma to the head, maybe even causing a form of hemorrhage.

Her memories eventually came back, to an extent. She remembered her life overall, but when someone has amnesia, they become very impressionable. Since there were so many syndicate members around her, and more 'incidents' than I'd like to admit, her bubbly personality never returned, and she became what she did."

Applejack's eyes seemed to get sadder, but there was still happiness that her friend was alive, even if different.

"That's...terrible, there's nothing The Syndicate can do?"

"Everything that can be done has been, at this point, it's up to her. Now, since you know the fate of your friend, can we get to business?"

Macintosh furrowed his eyebrows at her, not appreciating how direct she was being. But, Applejack was the first one to speak.

"Not yet, I need to ask one more question."

Applejack looked at her, sitting back in the chair as she crossed her arms.

"Who are you?"

She tensed, that was a question she was expecting, but there were many ways this could go depending on how much Applejack knew about The Syndicate.

"Just a messenger, here solely to help discuss the situation and terms with The Silent Killer and how things will work with the next leader when they're chosen."

There was a tense silence in the room, Pinkamena waited to see her response. But when she saw the look of skepticism on her face, she knew this was going to be trouble.

"No, you're not. I don't know how ignorant you think I am, but even I can tell you aren't a messenger."

Igneous appeared behind Applejack, standing behind her as he looked at Pinkamena. The good thing about this mask is no one can see her face, so they couldn't see how pissed she was at Igneous for showing up now! And how tense she was about Applejack, she was being more difficult than she'd like.

"Alright, if you're so smart, tell me who you think I am."

Applejack didn't appreciate her snarkiness anymore than Macintosh did, Igneous watched with curiosity, seeming intent on just watching.

"You know too much to just be a messenger, and they wouldn't send a messenger to meet with the leader of another crime organization when things are so tense, especially alone. I've been asking around, and it seems you lied to me about some things. The important one, is that a new leader was chosen, and that they're the ones who killed Igneous. And I asked myself,'What reason would they have to lie? It doesn't make any sense.'. Unless…"

Applejack leaned forward, looking directly where the eyes would be on the mask, a confident smile on her face.

"You're the leader of The Syndicate, and you lied to protect your identity!"

Igneous laughed, no one else being able to hear it but her. Pinkamena, while slightly nervous, sighed out of relief. She was ok Applejack knowing she was the leader, that was going to come out sooner or later. But If she had somehow figured out she was Pinkie, that was a can of worms she'd rather deal with after The Silent Killer.

"Why would I want to protect my-"

"I know who you are."

Pinkamena's words caught in her throat, this couldn't be good.

"Igneous had four children, but only one who passed the test. She refused to be the next leader, why? I have no idea. But with Igneous dead and Inkie and Blinkie being missing, she would have no choice. Isn't that right,"

Igneous jokingly began biting on his nails, waiting anxiously to see what she would say.

"Maud?"

Igneous began to howl with laughter, clutching the sides of his stomach as he literally rolled on the floor laughing. Pinkamena didn't say anything, instead, she leaned forward slowly, laying her arms on the table almost threateningly.

"That is...correct. I'm actually impressed."

Pinkamena said hesitantly, realizing that with the way the mask muffled her voice, she did sound a lot like Maud. Since this is the assumption Applejack has come to, Pinkamena decided to play along. As long as the mask stayed on, she had no issue with it, she was sure Maud didn't either.

Applejack smiled slightly, but didn't say anything. Instead, she slumped back in her chair, refusing to take her eyes off of her. Pinkamena didn't say anything, she wasn't going to break the silence this time. Applejack and Pinkamena stared at each other, Big Macintosh watched with silence. Igneous began to stand up beside Pinkamena, choosing now to stand behind her and watch. He wiped a fake tear from his eye as his laughter began to die down, when he noticed the tension, a smug smile came to his face.

"What happened to Inkie and Blinkie?"

Pinkamena felt a tinge of pain and anger, of all the questions she had expected her to ask, that wasn't one of them. Even behind the mask and under the hood, she could how tense she was, she looked almost...upset. But, instead of a look of satisfaction like she expected, Applejack's expression quickly changed to rage. She suddenly jumped up, knocking the chair she was in back.

"Oh no! You do not get to feel guilty! You could have told us something, anything! But no, you sat back and did nothing! I knew Blinkie and Inkie, before I even knew anything about The Syndicate. Weirdness seems to run in your family, but they were good people. I also know their dead, they've been gone too long, way longer than Pinkie was. What I want to know is, how did they die? Were they taken as hostages and killed anyway? Died in some terrible 'accident'? Or did they fail this 'test' I've heard so much about?!"

Pinkamena was digging her nails into the table, making deep claw marks in them, she hadn't even noticed when they had extended. She could feel the emotions bubbling inside of her, she felt the rage at Applejack's words and accusations. But she could also feel the grief, whatever part of her from before everything was still there, and it wouldn't let her get over the death of her sisters.

"That's...not...what happened."

Pinkamena could barely get the words out, having to bite the inside of her cheek to stop her from lashing out.

"Then tell me what happened! What excuse did Igneous use to justify their deaths? Or did he even try? Were you so afraid of what might happen if you speak up, you just let it happen? Just like you did with Pinkie?"

Pinkamena had to clench her fists now, her nails digging deeply into her hands, blood was dripping onto the table. She could feel her teeth extending, barely able to suppress a growl. She was shaking with anger, barely able to hold herself back. She could feel Igneous intently watching her, but there was no smug look on his face this time. Instead, his face was stone cold.

"Keep calm, you need to learn restraint. You're not getting any help this time, if you don't learn how to control yourself, you have no future as a leader."

Big Macintosh was also watching her, but more out of concern. But Applejack didn't, and if she did, she didn't care.

"Do you even know? Or do you even care what happened to them, to Pinkie? You could have helped them! You could have saved them! You could have done something, the fact that you didn't makes me sick! You might as well have killed them yourself!"

That was it, the final straw. The pain and grief she felt were quickly overshadowed by seething rage, as were Igneouss' attempts to calm her down. She jumped forward, going over the table towards Applejack. But Macintosh expected this, she suddenly rammed into her shoulder first, his brute strength knocking her off the table. She quickly got up, he was faster than she was expecting for someone so big. Before she could get on her feet, he put his foot on the edge of the table and pushed it forward, hitting her directly in the chest. He put a lot of force behind that kick, because the table cracked a few ribs, and pushed her against a wall.

"You fuckin-"

Before Pinkamena could push the table off, there was a loud gunshot coming from Applejack, the same gun she had pulled on her back at the tree. Applejack shot her in the left shoulder, standing where the table was. Pinkamena felt the immense burning pain, but refused to cry out, Blake had taught her better than that. Before she saw the wound start healing, she covered it with her right hand, also trying to stop the blood flow, which had already seeped through her clothes and dripped down on the table.

"Don't move, I don't care what consequences it will have, I will kill you."

Applejack said coldly, as she walked forward and put her boot on the edge of the table and shoved it deeper into her chest, the sound of Pinkamena's ribs cracking was almost audible, but she didn't so much as grunt, she knew how to take pain. Applejack put the gun directly in her face, pointing it between the eyes of her mask. She looked down the barrel of her gun, her eyes unforgiving and angry, a look that made Pinkamena almost afraid. She wasn't sure how good her healing factor was, but she didn't want to test getting shot in the head.

"You know what? I take it back, I don't think you're the leader. The leader of the biggest crime organization wouldn't be stupid enough to come here alone, and they especially wouldn't be stupid enough to try to kill the leader of another because they were provoked! I hated Igneous, but at least he wasn't stupid."

"Eeyup."

Igneous too seemed to agree, as he was looking at Pinkamena with an immensely disappointed and ashamed look. The hole in Pinkamena's shoulder was quickly closing, but the bullet was still lodged in, she was using her fingers to dig it out, but she couldn't help wincing when she did. Luckily, the burning pain seemed to calm her down. Either that, or The Whispers decided to help her. But she doubted that since she didn't feel that numbing cold she was becoming so familiar with, somehow focusing on the pain made her rage simmer down.

"You know what else? I'm beginning to doubt you're Maud too. When Pinkie disappeared, I personally confronted her, there was no way The Syndicate wasn't involved, and Igneous would piss himself in front of the entire city before he told me anything he didn't have to. And, despite how aggressive I was, that girl never budged. And believe me, there were no boundaries, I got as personal as I could, but she didn't so much as flinch! I swear, there's something wrong with that girl if she can keep that same blank expression and tone like that all the time, I'd almost say she didn't feel emotions at all. So, the fact that you lost your composure like that, means either you've changed a lot, or you're not Maud."

Pinkamena could feel the bullet coming out, but she needed to take it out slowly, or she risked hitting an artery. She just needed a few more moments, she realized now that her outburst was stupid and that killing Applejack and her brother would cause dozens of problems, not even mentioning the crushing guilt.

"Take off the mask."

That is not a line she needed to hear right now.

"Why?"

"That's Blake's mask, he used to wear it when we had sex because he liked it. He had some strange obsession with it, but I can't really judge him since I feel similar about my lasso. The fact that you're wearing it means he's more than likely dead, or gave it to you as some sort of joke. So, I wan-

"Wait! You had a relationship with Blake?"

The disbelief, surprise, and anger in her voice were obvious, even muffled by the mask. For a few seconds she stopped pulling the bullet out, there were just so many things wrong with that. Macintosh gave a disapproving glare at his sister, but said nothing, it was clear he didn't approve of Blake any more than she did. But instead of answering her question, she felt the blunt end of the pistol as Applejack pistol-whipped her.

"Do not try to change the subject. Take off your mask, now!"

Pinkamena was finding it very difficult to restrain herself, but getting hit caused her jerk her hand forward reflexively, causing her to force the bullet out. She was extremely lucky she wasn't shot somewhere important, but that might have been intentional, she didn't know how good of a shot Applejack was.

"Yeah...no."

Whether it was because they weren't expecting her to recuperate so quickly, or they didn't think she'd be strong enough to flip a table. Either way, the shock on their faces was evident when she did just that, with one hand, the one connected to the shoulder she'd just been shot in. Even she was slightly impressed by her own strength, she really needed to ask Discord about just what she was capable of as a chimera. She flipped it faster than Applejack could react, the table knocking her back and the gun out of her hands. She was now laying on the ground in front of her, the gun sliding a few inches away from her hand. The table landed a few feet away, farther than she anticipated it would. Before Macintosh could react, Pinkamena pounced forward, slamming her foot on Applejack's forearm when she started reaching for the gun, which Pinkamena used her other foot to kick away. She wrapped her left hand around AJ's neck, barely letting her breath.

"You take one more step, and I will snap her neck."

She warned him, stopping him from trying anything. His fists were clenched in anger as he could do nothing, unable to help his sister. But then they released when an expression of surprise came onto his face, then a smug smile that reminded her too much of Igneous.

"Why are-"

She didn't feel the pain, not at first. She heard the cutting of fabric and flesh, she felt something foreign enter her body and then leave in a split second, then she felt the blood rushing down her back. She let go of Applejack and stood straight up, feeling slightly woozy from the blood loss. She turned her head as far back as she could, which wasn't as far as she'd like. Then, when she saw the deep gash in her back stretching from her right shoulder to her left hip, cutting through her clothes and almost into her spine, she felt the pain.

The first thing she could compare it to is when Blake was cutting her with a needle when her nervous system was sensitive, except all the little cuts were turned into one big and deep slash. She cried out in pain for a few seconds, but stopped herself by biting her tongue. Compared to some of the things she went through, this was tolerable. Thanks to the healing, the pain was quickly subsiding as the wound healed, though it was a lot slower than most because of its size. Then she saw the perpetrator, not exactly what she was expecting. At first, she thought it was Juno, but quickly realized that wasn't the case. This person was noticeably smaller than her, maybe coming up to her chest. They were dressed completely in black, not kevlar like Juno's, more like a full body suit with holes cut out for the eyes, which she couldn't make out. The thing she was attacked with looked like something out of a medieval movie, a claymore sword was wielded in their hands, blood dripping from it. The wielder didn't seem to have any problem wielding it, despite the sword being almost as big as them.

"Oh, I'm going to kick your ass for that!"

Pinkamena leaped towards the figure, who seemed to flinch, not expecting her to move so quickly after being cut like that. But, they still jumped back, just barely avoiding Pinkamena. they swiftly raised the sword over her head, bringing it down just as fast towards Pinkamena's arm. But Pinkamena was faster than them, she dodged the sword with ease, moving quickly to the left of them. She punched them in the face while grabbing the sword, ignoring the pain as it cut into her hand. She pulled the sword out of their hands, their grip was strong, but hers was stronger. She tossed the sword to the side, and then grabbed them by the neck. Lifting them into the air and slamming them into the ground, getting a sense of satisfaction when she heard them yelp in pain.

She raised her hand, feeling them turn into claws almost eagerly. She was about to end this person's life, when Applejack stopped her, grabbing her hand with hers. She turned to Applejack, angry that she was stopped. But then she saw the look in her eyes, not anger, but fear.

"Please...she's my sister."

Pinkamena's heart stopped, for just a moment, her bloodlust seeming to disappear. She looked down at the figure below her, hesitantly leaning down and looking into their eyes. They were a beautiful shade of gamboge, though that was harder to tell from how constricted they were out of fear, their erratic breathing was further proof of this. There was only one person she knew with eyes like that, Apple Bloom. Pinkamena retracted her claws, stepping back from both of them. Applejack silently thanked her, and proceeded to help Applebloom up.

As soon as she got up, she hugged Applejack, seeming to be very relieved. She pulled down the face suit a bit around her face, allowing her mouth free.

"Sis! I'm so glad yer-

Applejack silenced her by raising her hand, she seemed to also be relieved, but also really angry.

"Don't say anything, you are in a lot of trouble! Big Mac will be taking you home, he's going to tell Granny, and she'll sort you out."

Applebloom looked scared, but instead of saying anything, she just dropped her head in shame. She walked up to Macintosh, who seemed to hesitate in leaving her sister with someone who just tried to kill her.

"I'll be fine, just go. There won't be any more violence between us, right?"

Applejack asked Pinkamena, who hesitantly nodded. Macintosh put her arm around Applebloom's shoulder and walked out, keeping his eyes on Pinkamena until he was out of sight. There was an awkward silence, Pinkamena and Applejack were standing beside each other, facing away from each other, but not saying anything. It was Pinkamena who broke the silence.

"So, your sisters an assassin?"

Applejack snorted, shaking her head with an almost proud smile on her face.

"Assassin in training, she started about a week ago. She learned how to use some things and she started learning how to be quiet, but god knows where she got a sword and learned how to use it! I guess when she heard I was meeting with someone from The Syndicate with Macintosh as my only guard, she got worried and came here. I have a first aid kit, if you-"

She turned around and looked at her back, wanting to see just how bad she was injured. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw there wasn't one. The only indication that it even happened was the diagonal cut across her clothes, and the dried blood around it. But the skin underneath was fine, no scars or anything underneath, it looked perfectly normal. Luckily for Pinkamena, none of her pink hair could be seen. Then a look of comprehension formed on her face, and slight fear.

"You're one of those chimera things, right?"

Pinkamena turned around, now facing Applejack. She wasn't really surprised that she knew, more curious.

"How do you know about chimeras?"

Applejack looked away, seeming to recall an unpleasant memory, one that made her afraid.

"We tried to kill Igneous once...once, a really long time ago when my parents were in charge. It seemed like it would be easy, he always came alone. But, to be safe, both my parents met with him, along with several others. They were armed and ready, they chose the best they had. And...he tore them apart!

She visibly shivered as she nearly screamed, tears of grief and anger began running down her face.

"They shot him until his body was riddled with holes, and then he got back up and laughed! He ripped my parents apart like toys! And he did the same thing with everyone else there! He ripped them apart like a wild animal, and the whole time, he had a smile on his face, like it was the funnest thing he'd ever done! And you know what he did after that? He cut off their heads and sent them to us! And guess what else? He set up a camera before we got there and recorded it! Big Macintosh was in the military at the, and Applebloom had been born just a month ago! So it was up to me, a nine-year-old girl, to learn how to lead a crime organization! Along with school, taking care of my infant sister, and all with that with just losing my parents! So I'm quite familiar with your kind, the kind that murdered my parents!"

Applejack screamed in Pinkamena's face, unable to hide her rage and grief, or the tears that were falling down her face. Pinkamena could feel her rage for her father flaring up again at this revelation, but there was no point, she had already killed him.

"I'm the one that killed Igneous."

Applejack reeled back, looking back at Pinkamena in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

"I said,"

Pinkamena slowly raised up her arms, putting her hands in the hood on her head. She put her fingers under the mask, slowly pulling it off. Her straight pink hair stayed in the hood as the mask came off, revealing her face. She let out a sigh of relief, that thing was really hard to breathe in. She looked at Applejack, her face being as emotionless as can be, despite the rage she felt for her father for murdering her friend's parents and putting this kind of responsibility for it. How many lives had he destroyed?

"I'm the one who killed Igneous, I'm the current leader of The Syndicate."

At first, Applejack looked shocked, then a little bit relieved. But the one look she didn't want to see, was pity.

"Pinkie...I-"

"No! Do not say you're sorry! I've had enough of that from Sunset, I don't want your apologies, and I definitely don't want your pity! So please, can we just not talk about it?"

Applejack seemed offended, she wasn't the type to just let things go like that.

"Not talk about it? Oh no! You need to start giving me answers missy! I don't care if you are the leader of The Syndicate now, you are my friend first! So start talking!"

Applejack demanded, her stubbornness one of the few things that remained true to her character. This only further frustrated Pinkamena.

"I really don-"

"If you don't tell me everything that happened since you disappeared, I can promise you, there is no chance of any kind of deal between us!"

Pinkamena almost scoffed, but when she saw how serious Applejack was, she decided against it. She glanced to the right of Applejack, seeing Igneous propping himself against a nearby crate with his arms crossed.

"Oh no, I'm not helping you here! This is your problem, you decide what you want to do."

Igneous declared, and then proceeded to fade out of existence, seemed he's had enough for today.

"You're really persistent about this, huh?"

Applejack's only response was to cross her arms and stare at Pinkamena, waiting for her answer. Pinkamena sighed again, this time out of annoyance, this was going to take a while.

"Okay, but it's a long story. I'll start when Igneous came to my house after my birthday party…"

Despite the trouble this was going to cause, somehow, Pinkamena felt like she wasn't going to regret this.

"Ok, so you had sex with Blake because you liked his accent?"

It took somewhere around thirty minutes, but Pinkamena told Applejack everything. From the woods, to Blake, to Discord, and finally when she killed Igneous. Ok, almost everything. She may have left out the fact that Blake turned her into a bloodthirsty sadomasochist who enjoys taking human lives, that isn't a necessary detail. Neither was the one million bounty she set on herself. She tried to tell her about The Whispers, but it seemed they really didn't want that. Anytime she tried to form the words, she got a massive headache, and it got worse the more it tried.

When she finished saying all she could, Applejack hugged her. It was almost strange to feel such nice physical contact after how the last three months had treated her, the warmth and kindness she felt were almost suffocating. But, afterward, they managed to make peace between The Apples and The Syndicate. This time, hopefully, a permanent one.

"I didn't know I was attracted to accents until I met him! There was just something so sexy about it! He always came with Igneous whenever I met with him, one day he came up to me and we started talking, then things escalated. At the time, I thought he was just a bodyguard. So, we had sex fairly often, but it was never romantic. And when I found out who he really was from Big Mac, I stopped it immediately. Now, knowing what he did to you, I feel disgusted with myself!"

They were now standing outside of the warehouse, Pinkamena had put the mask back on. They were standing beside the remaining car, Macintosh had used the other to take Apple Bloom home. While sex wasn't something they usually talked about before, telling Applejack everything and being part of The Syndicate changed things between them, though they were still friends. Applejack spit on the ground in disgust, a shameful look on her face.

"It's not your fault, he's very charismatic and dangerously good with people. He could probably talk a nun into doing anal."

The joke made Applejack smile, but she still had a guilty look on her face.

"I still feel bad for it, makes me feel...dirty."

She mumbled, it was clear what Pinkamena told her made her feel more upset about Blake.

"Listen, I shouldn't have to say this, but I just want to be sure. Please don't tell any-"

In the distance Pinkamena heard a gunshot, she could hear the bullet coming their way. Pinkamena tackled Applejack to the ground, landing behind the car. The bullet scraped her hand, and from the feel of it, it belonged to a sniper.

"What in tar-"

Pinkamena put a finger to her lips, telling Applejack to be quiet. Slowly, she leaned around the corner, looking for the source of the shooter. She could smell the gunpowder, this helped Pinkamena locate the shooter. They didn't seem to be that far, assuming she was correct. They were shooting them from the rooftop across the warehouse, the one she had been on before coming. She turned the corner, thanks to improved eyesight that bordered on night vision, she was able to see them.

When she was talking to Discord about The Silent Killer, he showed her pictures one of their agents were able to get. Someone dressed in all black, carrying a large sniper rifle on their back. The same figure was now on the rooftop across the warehouse, the same sniper rifle pointed at them as they lay down, prepared to shoot them again.

And this time, they didn't intend on missing. 


End file.
